


Free from the Dead

by SamJoinedtheReconCorps



Series: Blood and Bones [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Action, Adventure, Blood, Death, F/M, Free! - Freeform, Friendship that turns into love, Gore, Horror, M/M, Mild Language, Profanity, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, lots of horror cliches, shitty circumstances, sorry the title sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-12 00:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2088366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamJoinedtheReconCorps/pseuds/SamJoinedtheReconCorps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a fun night spent at Haru's house the Free! Boys are thrown into a chaotic apocalypse as a virus mutates and spreads like wildfire in Japan. The only safe haven is in Tokyo, where no signs of the virus have been seen, sending everyone to flee to the capital in hopes of freeing themselves of the nightmare. Those infected have only days before they turn. Those who've turned cannot be saved. Those who live on are still in danger and those who survive won't ever forget.  </p>
<p>One of my favorite types of AUs. Sorry the summary's shit, I just didn't want to give too much away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Mutation

**Author's Note:**

> Fanfiction I've been working on for a while now. I'm sorry if it's a little OOC but I really hope you like it!

                “Mako-chan! Mako-chaaaan! Take the pillow off your face! You’re missing the best part of the movie!” Nagisa exclaimed, pouncing on the larger teen and wrenching the pillow from his grasp, forcing him to see the gruesome deaths of the movie characters as the zombies attacked.

                “Gah!” Makoto yelped, having looked up and seen a zombie gorging on someone’s intestines. He snatched the pillow away from Nagisa and then buried himself behind Haruka, who stoically watched the screen but gently rubbed circles into Makoto’s arm to calm him down.

                Rei glanced up to the TV before going back to reading the article he’d pulled up on his laptop. “ _A possible mutation in the rabies virus could indeed cause what would be referred to as a ‘zombie virus’,_ ” the article read. He’d begun reading the article as soon as Nagisa had popped in a zombie movie for the boys to watch since they were all spending the night at Haru’s house as a sort of celebratory “It’s Spring Break” sort of thing and also since most of their families were in Tokyo trying to sign the boys up for Spring tryouts to be on the Japanese Olympic swim team. Rei liked watching movies, but he always found these zombie ones a bit far-fetched, that’s why he’d begun doing a quick research on whether there could ever be a possibility for an outbreak to actually occur. Most of the articles said the same thing - there’d need to be some sort of mutation in the rabies virus which would cause a hunger for living flesh and would also reanimate a dead body. There was a possibility that this virus could mutate and become what Hollywood called a “Zombie Apocalypse” but it was a very remote possibility. However, according to a German scientist, the virus was getting upsettingly close to mutating and could possibly morph into something zombie-like alarmingly fast. But his opinion was just one in hundreds, so there really wasn’t anything to worry about.

                Rei closed the window of the article and shut off his laptop after having checked the time. 12:43AM, mildly late, especially for them who’d woken up early that morning for their last day of school before break and then had an exhausting joint practice with Samezuka in the afternoon. Rin and Nitori had also been invited to come over, something which Rin was now used to but an invitation which had made Nitori very happy since it was Rin himself who’d thrown his arm around Nitori and told him to come along with the group. The Iwatobi boys had been more than happy with bringing Nitori along, since he’d pretty much become a part of the group when he’d made friends with Rin. Rei pushed up his glasses and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before fixing them and looking around the room. Said aforementioned boys were sitting on another couch, Nitori already asleep, head on Rin’s shoulder, snoring softly. Rin had obviously noticed that he was already asleep, but he didn’t do anything to push his friend off him, opting for allowing the younger boy to sleep. Nagisa was still watching the movie completely engrossed in the final moments of the film, Haru was watching dispassionately, continuing to soothe Makoto, who was still avoiding the TV screen. The credits began rolling and Rei stood up and stretched, stifling a yawn. It was a good thing that all the boys had decided on changing into their pajamas before the movie began.

                “That was such a good ending! Don’t you agree, Rei-chan?” Nagisa gushed, turning and grinning at Rei.

                “Yeaaaaaaaah,” Rei’s answer got drawn out by a yawn. He wiped a hand across his face to try and dispel some of his sleepiness, “I agree, Nagisa-kun. It was very selfless of the hero to urge his friends forward without him once he’d gotten hurt.”

                “It was really sad though,” Makoto added, peeking out from behind Haru. He hadn’t watched most of the movie, but he’d heard the entire thing.

                Haru nodded in agreement before getting up and helping Makoto off the couch. He turned to the group and asked quietly, “Are you all sure you’ll be okay staying in the living room?”

                “Haru, stop worrying about us,” Rin said, getting up off the couch before leaning over and picking up Nitori to lay him down on the sofa more comfortably. Aiichiro gave a small content sigh before he curled up and began snoring again. Rin straightened himself, stretching and yawning. “We’ll be fiiiine,” he drawled with a yawn, “we go through this every time we come over. You and Makoto go, scurry along, and go to bed. Ryugazaki and I will get things set down here.”

                “Hey! I’m still here too, RinRin!” Nagisa exclaimed, eyes shooting open after he’d begun to doze off on the couch, slightly offended that Rin hadn’t said that he’d help fix things in the living room too.

                Rei just laughed, “Nagisa-kun, look at yourself. You’re already half-asleep. Rin and I will take care of things.”

                Nagisa huffed, but did what he was told, because he really was tired. He crashed on the couch and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the cushions.

                “I’ll be back with a few blankets,” Haru said, going off into the hall in search of the closet.

                Makoto went upstairs and came back with two sleeping mats and pillows. They pushed the coffee table out from the center of the living room and had set up the mats when Haru came back in with a stack of blankets. He handed them over to Rin before he and Makoto began heading up the stairs.

                “Good night,” Makoto called as he turned off the light.

                “Good night,” the other boys responded. Rin threw two blankets at Rei, one for himself and the other to be given to Nagisa. Rei got up from sitting cross-legged on his mat and went to tuck Nagisa in, something that Rin was doing with Aiichiro. They then grabbed their own blankets and pillows and settled in for the night.

                “’Night,” Rin yawned, from somewhere on Rei’s left.

                Rei sat up and took off his glasses, setting them on the small corner table. “Good night,” he replied, lying down.

                It took a few minutes before sleep descended upon him once more, but it was enough time for Rin to have already fallen asleep. He could feel himself in that zone between being awake and being asleep, when a small, quiet voice brought him back into wakefulness.

                “Good night, Rei-chan,” Nagisa whispered.

                Rei smiled sleepily, “Good night, Nagisa-kun.” Then sleep finally pulled him under.

* * *

 

                Upstairs, Makoto and Haruka were also close to falling asleep. Makoto had his own mat set up beside Haruka’s bed and they’d talked for a while before finally falling asleep. It was around 2 in the morning when Makoto bolted upright with a strangled yelp.

               “Ah!” Makoto shouted before quickly clamping a hand over his mouth to keep from waking up the others. He took a shaky breath before running a hand through his hair trying to calm himself.

                He felt someone touch his shoulder and jumped, startled, before his eyes adjusted and he realized it was just Haru. “Makoto, what’s wrong?” Haru whispered as he got down from the bed and sat beside his taller friend.

               Makoto wiped the tears from his eyes and answered, “It’s nothing, Haru, it was only a nightmare.” He took a deep breath, “Did I wake you?”

               Haruka shook his head, “I’ve been hearing you whimpering for a while now and then you started muttering names in your sleep. I was just about to wake you when you’d said my name but then you just woke up on your own.” Haru put a hand on Makoto’s shoulder once again, a gentle, reassuring touch, “Are you sure it’s nothing?”

              It wasn’t nothing, but Makoto didn’t want Haru to get worried. He’d been dreaming that they were getting attacked by monsters and that Haruka hadn’t gotten away in order for the others to escape. Makoto had seen dream-Haru torn apart right before him. He’d seen the light go out of those piercing blue eyes. He began to feel tears start to fall again and he knew Haru could see them so he answered truthfully, “I had a dream you died.” He closed his eyes, trying to regain control of his emotions, “I guess that movie really did bother me.”

             “Don’t worry, Makoto, I’m right here,” Haruka assured him. He gently pushed Makoto back onto the mat so that he was lying down, and soothingly began to stroke his hair, knowing that’s what Makoto’s mom always used to do for him whenever he cried, “Go to sleep.” Satisfied that Makoto had calmed down enough, he got up and crawled underneath the covers of his bed again. It wasn’t until he was cocooned in the warm blankets that he asked, “Makoto, are you still scared?” Makoto’s back was to him, but he could see the other boy nod. Haruka sighed and sat up in bed before leaning over and grabbing his friend’s arm. “Come here,” he said.

             Makoto obediently complied and came to sit on Haru’s bed. He was wondering why Haru had called him over when he felt Haruka throw the blankets over both of them and then tug Makoto to lie down beside him. “Eh, Haruka?” Makoto asked as Haru fixed the blankets so that neither of them would be cold.

             “You’re sleeping with me tonight,” was Haru’s blunt reply.

             “But, Haru,” Makoto began nervously.              

             “Makoto, you’re sleeping here and that’s final,” Haru mumbled turning to look at Makoto, “That way you won’t be afraid, because I’ll be right here.”

             “Thank you, Haru,” Makoto said, smiling tenderly.

             “Don’t say such embarrassing things, Makoto,” Haru answered, face burning after having seen Mako smile so warmly. Still blushing furiously, he turned away from Makoto to face the wall. He’d been getting like that a lot for a while now around Makoto. Makoto would do something really nice or sweet or would smile or just laugh and Haru’s stomach would do some sort of somersault and make him feel all fluttery inside. Those feelings got a whole lot more insistent when high school began. At first, he’d thought he was just coming down with some sort of flu, but he’d been feeling like that for almost two years already. He knew it had something to do with the feelings he was harboring for Makoto, but he just couldn’t allow himself to face them – he didn’t want to ruin the amazing friendship that they shared. So he just kept his emotions out of the way and tried his hardest to not be too obvious about how he felt. He did, however, love having Makoto so close, especially if it made Makoto feel safe and okay. And, even though Haru wouldn’t admit to it, he, too, felt much safer having Makoto at his side. So, feeling secure and content, Haruka began drifting off to sleep. “Good night, Makoto,” Haru whispered sleepily.

            “Good night, Haruka,” Makoto smiled, feeling much more at ease now that he was with Haruka. Haru and he were very close – closer than most people would say you should be to your friends. But that was all Haru and he were: friends. He sometimes questioned the fluttering feeling he got every time he was around Haru, but had just put it down to them being _best_ friends. He’d been feeling like that ever since he could remember, so he just associated the feeling with Haruka. He did enjoy hanging out with Haru more than he did with his other friends, and he sometimes wished that they could spend more time together, but that didn’t mean he felt anything more than friendly feelings for Haru, right? Right.

            Who was Makoto kidding? He’d been struggling with those emotions for a very long time. He wasn’t sure if he would ever come to terms with having feelings for his best friend. However, he’d never want to risk his friendship with Haruka. He was just happy that Haruka was his best friend and that he actually cared about him too.

            Those were his last thoughts before he finally fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 

                Sunlight had begun streaming in through the blinds by the time Makoto started to get roused from sleep. It was too early to be up though, so he just snuggled up to the warm, soft pillow he was hugging and went back to sleep, confused as to why his bed mat was suddenly softer than he’d remembered and as to why he felt as if his pillow snuggled back.

                About half an hour later, Haru also felt himself waking up, slowly exiting dream world and entering reality. However, he wanted to stay nice and safe in his imagination for a while longer. He cuddled closer to the warm blanket that was wrapped around him and heard it give a content sigh. It smelled really nice, a very familiar scent, though he couldn’t quite place where the scent came from. He felt so comfortable, so warm and secure; he couldn’t help but begin to fall asleep again.

                His eyes shot open.

                _He heard his blanket give a content sigh._

He put his hand up to his waist to the first place that radiated heat and realized that the warmth was caused by a hand, which was attached to an arm, which was attached to a body, which belonged to _Makoto._ He had to suppress the blush that was threatening to redden his face as he wracked his brain for the events which had led to Makoto sleeping with him. Makoto was sharing a bed with him. He knew nothing could have possibly happened between them, but he couldn’t help but harbor a small amount of hope that maybe something did happen. Then he remembered: Makoto had had a really bad nightmare, one where Haru had died, and had been afraid to fall asleep again, so Haru had invited him up so that they could sleep together. It had been a completely friendly gesture, done to help his best friend sleep peacefully. They had probably gotten close throughout the night, whilst they slept.

                Haruka wanted to know how close they were and decided to squirm a little bit to get a feel of his own limbs. He felt himself grow stiff when he realized exactly _how_ close they were. Makoto had his arms around Haru’s waist, and was pressed up against Haruka’s back. Haruka could feel Mako’s warm breath fanning against the back of his neck as he slowly inhaled and exhaled, causing Haru’s own breath to hitch in his throat. His and Makoto’s legs were tangled together beneath the blanket. The more awake he got, the more aware he became of the body beside him. Then it hit him. _Makoto and he were spooning._

_Makoto was the big spoon._

_He was the little spoon._

                By now he knew he couldn’t hide the blush that was surely coloring his face scarlet.

                “Makoto,” he whispered hoarsely. No answer. He cleared his throat slightly, “Makoto,” he tried again, a little louder. Still no answer. He turned around slowly so he was now facing Makoto. He was about to try waking him up again when Makoto moved in his sleep and pulled Haru closer. “Nhg,” Haru grunted as Makoto readjusted himself and Haru. Makoto was still hugging Haru, but had now slotted Haruka beneath his chin. Haru’s face was at the crook of his neck, and Haru couldn’t help but think that this was where he belonged. He was sorely tempted in going right back to sleep, screw everything and just staying nice and warm in Makoto’s arms, but then a small voice at the back of his head brought him back to reality. He couldn’t just stay like that; he had to wake Makoto up. Makoto wasn’t aware of the situation or of what he’d been doing in his sleep, and if Makoto were awake he’d, unfortunately, never be acting like this. With a heavy heart, Haru began prodding Makoto’s side to try and get him up. “Makoto,” he said, louder than the other two times.

                Makoto slowly began to stir. “Mmm,” he hummed.

                Haru prodded him a bit more, “Makoto.”

                He finally began opening his eyes. Makoto instinctively flexed his muscles and so tightened his grip on Haru, bringing Haru even closer to him. He took one hand away from Haru’s waist and rubbed his eyes sleepily, “What’s wrong, Haru?”

Haruka allowed Makoto to become aware of their situation on his own. He blinked a few times before he finally began to realize where he was, and who he was holding. His eyes widened comically when he looked down at Haru and saw how he was holding him.

                “Gah,” he yelped, falling off the bed as he tried to scramble away from Haru and their compromising position. He stood up, red faced, and began apologizing, “Haru, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I’m so-“

                “Makoto, it’s okay,” Haruka said, sitting up and stretching, feeling pink tinging his features as well, but choosing to ignore it in order to dispel the awkwardness. Haru swung his legs over the side of the bed, “Don’t worry so much.”

                Rubbing the back of his neck, Makoto smiled sheepishly at Haruka, “I just hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

                “You didn’t,” Haru replied, a little too quickly, so he added a nonchalant yawn to the end of his admission to mask how he’d actually felt, not noticing that Makoto was also similarly struggling with not being able to admit he enjoyed sleeping together, too. It seemed like Makoto was just about to say something when the door to their room was thrown open.

                “Did something happen? Are you both okay? We heard a loud noise,” Nagisa quickly explained, dragging a still groggy Rei behind him.

                Both teens looked slightly uncomfortable about answering the question, but Makoto stepped up and fixed the situation, “Sorry I scared you guys, it’s just that I accidently knocked down one of Haru’s textbooks.” He pointed at a precariously stacked pile of textbooks sitting at the edge of Haru’s desk.

                “See, Nagisa-kun? I told you nothing bad had occurred,” Rei said, fixing his glasses. He then turned to Haru and Makoto, “I’m sorry for waking you. It’s just that last night, there were a few strange noises outside. Nagisa-kun was just worried that maybe something had happened.”

                Nagisa still looked a little unsure, as if he wanted to ask some more, or maybe add on to what Rei had said, but decided to drop it. He then grabbed Rei’s arm again and began dragging him down the stairs, announcing, “Rei-chan and I will make breakfast!”

                Haruka turned to Makoto, eyes full of unsaid words. Makoto read a _Thank you_ in them, even though there were a few more there that he wasn’t sure how to read, even though some part deep inside him apparently understood. “You’re welcome,” Makoto answered back, smiling warmly.

                Both boys then began looking for clean clothes to change into in order to discard their pajamas. When they finally made their way downstairs, they saw that the other four had done the same and were already crowded at the small dining room table eating scrambled eggs and bacon. Makoto and Haruka served themselves and sat down to begin eating, Makoto eagerly and Haru slightly grouchy for having to change his regular morning breakfast of mackerel for a more mundane morning food.

                Once they were finished, Haruka and Makoto began cleaning up the kitchen whilst Nagisa, Rei, Rin, and Aiichiro cleaned up the living room. At first, no one heard the frantic knock at the door, but as it grew more insistent, Aiichiro was the one who called out, “Someone’s at the door!”

The other boys were still bustling about cleaning up so Makoto just called out, “Can you get that, please?”

                Aiichiro went to the door and opened it up to find a slightly panicked blonde pizza delivery man on the other side. “Hello,” Aiichiro chirped.

                “Hey, kid,” the man answered, looking around at what he could see of the inside of the house before stepping back regarding the outside as if making sure he had the right place. He then turned back to Aiichiro and asked, “Does Nanase Haruka live here?”

                Aiichiro nodded and was about to call Haruka over when Rin appeared over his shoulder and exclaimed, “Coach Sasabe!”

                “Rin, my boy!” the man, Coach Sasabe, beamed, throwing an arm around Rin who’d already stepped out the door.

                They both then turned to Aiichiro and Rin explained, “This is our old swim coach, from when we were a part of the Iwatobi Swim Club.” Aiichiro nodded his understanding, so Rin turned back to Coach Sasabe and asked, “What’re you doing here?”

                Goro Sasabe’s face visibly darkened, as if remembering a particularly troubling piece of news. “Look, ah,” he stammered, “can I come inside?” Rin and Aiichiro ushered him inside, where he said his hellos to Rei (“Hello, Coach Sasabe.”) and Nagisa (“Coach Sasabe!”) before greeting Makoto and Haruka when they came in from the kitchen. When they were all gathered in the living room, Goro looked around as if expecting more teenagers to pop up and join them. “There’s no more of you?”

                “No, it’s only us, Coach,” Makoto supplied before inquiring, “Why’ve you come around here?”

                Coach Sasabe ran a trembling hand through his hair before asking, “Have you boys watched the news?” They all shook their heads. He swore under his breath, “Well, we’ve been ordered to evacuate to Tokyo.”

                “What!?” the shrill cry rang around the room, “Why!?”

                Goro looked extremely upset about what he was going to say next but he knew he had to say it, “Apparently, there’s a new virus going around…”

                Rei felt his blood run cold as the other boys looked at each other confused, trying to see if anyone found any special meaning to Sasabe’s words.

                “Rei-chan, are you okay? You look sick,” Nagisa whispered, poking Rei’s side.

                Not noticing how the boys were reacting, Coach Sasabe carried on, “…there’s been a…mutation in an existing virus-“

                “Rabies,” Rei choked out the word.

                “Yes, that’s the one,” Coach Sasabe looked mildly impressed that someone kind-of knew what was going on. “There have already been a few cases of people who have turned, and a few more that have been infected through their wounds, and, well, boys we have to get going as fast as we can, it’s not safe here in town anymore, we have to get your families and leave now.”

                Rin stood up, voicing what was on most of the other boys’ minds, “Coach, but rabies can’t be that bad, can it? All we need are a few shots and we’ll be as good as-“

                Rei looked up at Rin, looking terrified, “Rin-san, we aren’t just merely dealing with a rabies epidemic.” He turned miserably towards Goro, who knew he was the one who had to confirm Rei’s suspicions and tell the rest of the boys what was going on.

                Coach Sasabe looked grimly at the boys, feeling as if he were about to deliver a death sentence. “This is going to sound crazy boys, but they’re calling this a zombie apocalypse.”


	2. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group must ready itself for the events that will unfold because of the virus. Provisions are packed, weapons are found, and the group was completed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter is a little longer than the prologue
> 
> Hope you like it!!

                Silence. Deafening silence greeted Goro Sasabe’s words. No one knew what to say. No one moved. It seemed as if no one was even breathing.

                After a few more seconds of terrible silence, Makoto stood up and went to Coach Sasabe, “Um, Coach?” He stooped down a bit to make sure he was looking him in the eye. “Are you sure you heard correctly, because a zombie-“

                “Apocalypse is complete nonsense,” Rin finished, standing up. He went over and stood beside Makoto, arms crossed in an obviously defensive manner. “Where did you even hear the news anyway? Haven’t you been at work?”

                Sasabe puffed up indignantly, “I was actually on my way to work. Which was already strange enough as it was since I saw practically _no one_ around.” He then turned to Makoto, “And yes, I heard correctly. I happen to be able to get radio with my delivery moped, so I plugged in my headphones and was listening to my usual station. I was just listening to one of my favorite rappers, some American named ‘Macklemore’ when it was interrupted with an emergency broadcast saying that we were all to get to Tokyo as soon as possible because a ‘zombie-like plague’,” he air quoted, “had begun infecting citizens, so we have to get going NOW!” He finished with a shout, quickly making his way along the room and pulling the boys up.

                Haruka went over to stand by Rin and Makoto, who were surveying the scene with different expressions on their face. “He can’t be serious,” Haru muttered, watching the Coach grab Nagisa and Nitori and push them to the kitchen to pack up food.

                Makoto looked slightly terrified yet skeptical, “He seems pretty serious.”

                “Tsk,” Rin sighed, “He’s lost it. The poor coach’s lost it.” He saw that Rei wasn’t up and joining them or Nagisa and Nitori and was just looking speechless, lost in thought, and above all, horrified. “Ryugazaki,” Rin called. Rei jumped and looked up at Rin who’d startled him out of his thoughts. “Will you please explain to Coach Sasabe that what he’s saying is crazy and impossible?”

                Rei put his head in his hands and mumbled something incomprehensible.

                “We can’t hear you when you’re mumbling,” Rin growled, growing slightly impatient with all the crazy in the room. Makoto gave him a pointed look to which he amended, “I’m sorry Ryugazaki, we didn’t quite catch that.”

                He sat up and fixed his glasses, defeat written in each of his movements. He sighed turning a pained look at the three before looking over at Goro, Nitori, and Nagisa. “I don’t think he’s lying,” he said quietly.

                “What.” Rin spluttered. It wasn’t even a question.

                Rei turned back to them, wrenching his eyes away from the other three. He motioned to the laptop that was sitting on the coffee table miserably, “Last night, during the movie we were watching, I decided to read up on zombie-virus theories.” He stood up, yet wouldn’t meet their gaze, “Scientists worldwide have agreed that if a mutation happened to the rabies virus, a mutation that could reanimate a corpse and make the infected crave flesh, we could entertain the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. They had said that it couldn’t possibly happen, but another scientist, a German one, said that it was closer to occurring than we imagined…” He finally looked up and met their eyes, “Up until last night, it was a distant theory, filled with holes and crazy ideas. Apparently, everything’s changed.”

                The three took his news in silence, much like they’d done with Coach Sasabe. They’d expected Rei to explain that whatever Goro was saying was insane, that maybe he’d misunderstood. It chilled them to the bone thinking that maybe Coach could be right, maybe they were facing a zombie apocalypse…

                “How about we turn on the news here? If it’s true we’re being evacuated, then they’ll have to be broadcasting that,” Makoto said, going over to the TV and turning it on to the first news network that they came across.

                The other three came and gathered around the screen, only to be joined by Goro, Nagisa, and Nitori seconds later. There was a man onscreen, reading off regions that had been reported as affected by the virus. “ _…cases have been reported in the Tohoku region, as well as in the Chubu region. The most severe cases have been reported in Mie, of the Kinki region…_ ”

                The boys felt as if the temperature had dropped ten degrees. Their seaside town of Iwatobi resided in the Kinki region. In Mie, of the Kinki region, where the worst cases of the virus apparently were being recorded. They could feel panic begin to bubble up amongst them but Rin quickly shushed them. “They’re going to mention the evacuations.”

                Makoto turned up the volume a bit more, _“As far as authorities and physicians have been concerned, there have been no cases of the virus in Tokyo, of the Kanto region. All civilians are to be evacuated to Tokyo and then evacuated from the country, in order to quarantine and eradicate this malicious plague. Symptoms of the virus are varied, but one thing is certain: it makes the infected into ‘zombies’ after having killed them by reanimating the corpse. Anyone who has had contact with someone whom has been infected should be cautious and wary. Anyone who encounters these ‘zombies’ should kill them on sight. And, I repeat, everyone is to make their way to the capitol of Japan in order to be evacuated from the country. Any further announcements will be broadcast. That is all.”_ The screen went dark. Makoto turned off the TV before turning and looking at the others.

                Everyone had different levels of shock written on their face. Goro looked upset and anxious, Rei looked tired and defeated, Nagisa seemed to be suppressing a sob, Aiichiro was crying, Haru looked scared, Rin looked unsure and afraid, and Makoto looked terrified. No one moved. Then all at once, everyone began getting frantic.

                “I need to call my parents!”

                “We have to hide!”

                “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…”

                 “HEY!” Coach Sasabe bellowed. Everyone froze and turned to look at the blonde. He stood up from the couch and went over to where the boys had begun to run off to. He pulled Aiichiro and Nagisa away and said, “You two, call everyone’s families. Tell them to stay at home, or to go home, and that we’ll come get them.” Aiichiro and Nagisa scrambled to snatch their cell phones and begin calling everyone. Goro then turned to Rei and Rin, “Go look for food that we can take with us as well as some sort of first aid kit and any medicines,” they stared uneasily at each other until Coach yelled, “Go!” They ran into the kitchen and could be heard rummaging through cupboards and the fridge. He finally turned to Makoto and Haruka, “You boys will go and begin to pack. Haruka, I know this is your house so you’ll be able to grab clothes from here. And you, Makoto, practically live here, so go pack up as well.” He then rushed off to help Rei and Rin look for provisions for the trip. Makoto and Haru hurried upstairs and began stuffing their sports bags with clothes and any other useful things they may find.

                 Makoto felt as if he were about to fall apart at the seams. He felt as if he’d been thrown into a dark hole, with nothing to guide his way. He was so scared. Scared for his friends and for himself. (His family was safe in Tokyo, where they’d gone to try and sign him up for the tryouts to be on Japan’s Olympic Swim Team.) He chanced a glance at Haru and was comforted slightly when he saw how calm and collected he looked, but he could also see the tension hiding underneath his stoic expression. He felt himself shaking as he threw his clothes and another pair of shoes into his bag. He knew he was going to completely lose it any second now, especially with the tears stinging his eyes.

                 Haruka could see as he packed flashlights into his bag that Makoto wanted to cry. He was biting his lip, trying his hardest not to, but he was obviously losing the fight. A few tears began to stream down his face, and he was visibly shaking. Haru was also terrified about their current situation, but it ripped him apart to see his best friend like that. He went over to Makoto and stilled his hand with his own. Makoto looked up at him, eyes a bit red from starting to cry. Haruka pulled him up from where he’d been kneeling, rummaging through the closet and brought him to him in an embrace. He wrapped his arms around Makoto’s middle and was afraid that Makoto wasn’t going to hug back until he felt his strong arms wrap around his shoulders. Makoto began to cry openly now, pressing his face to Haru’s shoulder and trembling as sobs wracked his body. Haru could feel his own throat getting thick, but he refused to cry. He had to be strong for Makoto. He hugged him tighter and felt Makoto do the same. They were clinging onto each other for dear life now, each trying to convey words unsaid through their embrace. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Haru finally felt that he could trust his voice.

                 “It’s going to be okay,” Haru whispered, muffled a bit by Makoto’s shirt. Makoto only nodded and took a shaky breath. He held Haru tighter for a split second before he let him go and they pulled apart.

                  Makoto gave Haru a small, watery smile, “Thank you, Haru.” It wasn’t much, but that smile told Haru everything he needed to know. Makoto would be okay. Haru would make sure of it.

                  They both picked up their bags and headed downstairs where they found Rei and Rin with similar bags filled with provisions and Nagisa and Nitori handing them their cell phones.

                  “…Mako-chan’s whole family is up in Tokyo, all of Ai-chan’s family is also in Tokyo, Rei-chan’s parents are there too with my parents and one of my sisters, and so is all of Captain Mikoshiba’s family,” Nagisa rapidly reported.

                  Nitori stepped up to add the rest, “Rei-chan’s brother is at his house, and Nagisa-chan’s sisters are at his. Captain Mikoshiba was at Samezuka Academy with Gou-chan, who said that she had left home early to get some medicine for her mom, who was down with a bad fever.” Rin nodded in understanding though he did seem a bit angry that Gou was hanging out with Seijuro. “We tried to call Miss Amakata, but we couldn’t reach her…” Aiichiro ended.

                  Coach Sasabe then turned to Rei and Rin, who began to go through their list of provisions. After most of the things were catalogued, Goro began to think. He paced around the room before stopping and pointing a finger at Rin, “Rin! Call your sister, and tell Mikoshiba to pack three bags: one for you, one for Aiichiro, and one for himself. Tell him we’ll be there to get them in about 30 minutes.” Rin quickly dialed Gou’s number, and retreated into the kitchen to talk. Coach Sasabe then turned to Rei and Nagisa, “You two, call your siblings as well, and tell them to pack bags for themselves and for you guys. Tell them to get any food and things we might need. Any weapons they might have will also come in handy…” he added as an afterthought.

                  “Weapons?” Makoto asked faintly as Nagisa and Rei began making their calls.

                  “Yes, weapons Makoto! We’re fighting the undead, we aren’t swimming laps at the old swim club! We have to be prepared,” Coach reeled.

                  Nagisa then began whimpering from where he was talking to his sisters, Hiro and Izumi, “No, please, this is serious, don’t make me look stupid…Izumi! No, please!” Haruka raised an eyebrow, to which Nagisa replied sadly, “They’re planning on packing only clothes for them, and making me wear girl clothes.”

                  Goro walked by and plucked Nagisa’s phone from his hand, before sternly speaking into it, “Izumi Hazuki? It’s Coach Goro Sasabe. Don’t you dare think this is a joke. You will pack up your belongings, and only what is _necessary_ , do you understand me? And you will also pack up things for your younger brother, _Nagisa_. If you fail to comply, don’t doubt that we won’t leave you here.” He pulled the phone away from his ear as screeching could be heard on the other line. Once that subsided a bit, he just said, “Be ready in 30 minutes,” before hanging up and giving Nagisa his phone. He then instructed the boys to wait by the front door with their things.

                 “…Okay Keiichi, we’ll be there in about half an hour, be ready,” Rei said, hanging up on his brother as he joined the others at the front door. They were all just waiting for Rin, who stomped in a few seconds later.

                 “Couldn’t reach your mom, could you?” Makoto asked.

                 Rin sighed angrily, “No. She must be pretty sick if she can’t even reach over and pick up the phone that’s by her bed.”

                 Coach Sasabe then joined them, with a bag of his own which apparently he’d had the whole time. He also had with him a few of Haru’s kitchen knives, none which were too dangerous, but all which could probably help them out. He gave one to Rin and one to Haru, and kept the third one for himself. They then made sure they had everything they would need from Haru’s place: Makoto was carrying his bag, Haruka his, Rin had the bag filled with food, a few pots, pans, and eating utensils, and other necessary items like the first aid kit they’d found and a few medicines that they’d gotten from Haruka’s bathroom cabinet, and Rei had his laptop bag. They were all set and ready to leave, except they were all too scared to actually go outside. It was finally Sasabe who pulled the door open and walked out, setting an example for the boys. They promptly followed him and began to trek down to the road and make their way toward the train station, which would drop them off near Rei and Nagisa’s house before finally taking them to Samezuka and the Matsuoka household.

                 Sasabe had been right earlier when he’d mentioned that no one was around. Iwatobi seemed to have turned into a ghost town overnight. People had probably heard the broadcast way earlier than the rest of them and left. There were a few people, groups as well as stragglers, whom they saw from time to time, but every group seemed to steer clear of one another. They walked in eerie silence until the train station, where they expected to see more people waiting to be transported out of the region and into safer territory, but it was empty.

                 Rin tried the automatic ticket dispenser. Nothing. “Tsk, seems like they’ve shut the power off of the station,” he muttered, annoyed. The boys began shifting restlessly, thrown off by yet another thing gone wrong.    

                They stared at the train tracks quietly until Aiichiro asked, “Where to now?”

                Most of them shrugged or shook their heads, except for the coach, who was looking out into the distance and Rei, who’d turned his attention to one of the shops near the station.

                “Well, I don’t think that it would be a bad idea to go and get ourselves some quality weapons,” Rei replied, pointing everyone’s attention towards the store he’d been looking at. It was a sports shop, filled with sporting equipment.

                 Rin punched Rei on the shoulder. “Nice job, Ryugazaki,” he grinned, “Guess it was good to bring you along.” Rei smiled back, before following Rin with the rest of the group after he’d begun to cross the street and enter the shop.

                 “I’ll stay out here, to keep watch,” Goro told the boys as they went inside, still squinting out towards where they’d come from.

                 The boys began browsing, though not as leisurely as they usually did whenever they’d gone shopping before. Rin picked up a baseball bat, and weighed it in his hand to see if it was a good match for him. He seemed pleased, and swung it around a bit to get a good feel of it.

                 “Rin, stop that. You might knock something down,” Haru mumbled from the aisle beside Rin’s.

                 “Ah, c’mon Haru, I’ve got to get myself used to my new weapon. It will, after all, help me bash some skulls,” Rin answered with a smirk, making eye contact with Haru above the tiny shelf.

                 “Ha, I didn’t think you’d need a weapon, what with those teeth you’ve got going on there,” Haru pointed at his own teeth with a satisfied smile.

                 Rin threw a hand over his mouth, “It’s a medical condition! Gou was trying to schedule me a dentist’s appointment to see what the hell was going on,” Rin whined.

                 Whilst they continued to bicker, Nagisa and Aiichiro went to see the far back of the store.

                 Nagisa whistled, “Look at all this.”

                Aiichiro sidled up beside Nagisa and looked at the glass case Nagisa was examining. Inside were dozens of hunting knives, sharp long blades with sturdy looking handles. “Woah,” Aiichiro whispered.

                “Yeah,” Nagisa replied, slowly reaching out for the case and opening it up. He grabbed the knife closest to him, one with a black blade and a brown wooden handle. He picked it up from its place and examined it closely. “It’s really nice,” he said at last, if a little unconvinced. It was a little too light for his taste.

                 Grabbing one for himself, Aiichiro decided to go with a knife that would have a longer reach, so he got a machete. He picked it up and balanced it around a bit, trying to see if it was the right fit for him, but decided against it. It did look intimidating though: some of the blade was serrated, whilst the other part was regular, allowing for either slicing through something quickly or sawing through something. He caught Nagisa glancing at his machete, and he himself couldn’t stop looking at Nagisa’s knife, so upon noticing the other glancing at their respective knives, they traded.

                “This is much better,” Aiichiro beamed, lifting up the nearly weightless knife. He put it into position before taking it and throwing it, sending it blade over hilt until it impaled itself neatly in the center of a bull’s eye that was propped up for apparent archery practice.

                “Wow! Where’d you learn to do that!” Nagisa exclaimed whilst twirling around his machete, which he felt was a perfect extension of his arm. Years of baton practice forced upon him by his sisters finally seemed to be paying off. He grabbed a belt from off one of the walls, a scabbard for the machete, put on the belt, and strapped on the machete as Aiichiro went and pulled the knife from where it’d gotten impaled an inch and a half into the wood.

               Nitori turned back to Nagisa with a grin, “It’s the perks of being an only child with tons of free time and a father who loves to collect antique weapons.” He jerked his thumb to the wall behind the target he’d hit, “Wanna see how these bows work?”

               Nagisa nodded and bounded after him towards the display.

                Rei and Makoto were in the camping section of the store looking at tents and sleeping bags, weighing the pros and cons of each item.

                “I think we should get at least one tent,” Makoto was saying as he reached out and grabbed a catalogue to see all the makes and models of each tent that was offered in the store.

                “Makoto-senpai,” Rei began, reflexively pushing up his glasses, “sleeping bags are a much better choice. They will keep us warm, won’t need to be put up, and are lighter to carry.” He began examining the sleeping bags that were arranged on the wall, “Besides, it must be really beautiful to sleep under the stars.”

                “Hmm,” Makoto hummed and set the catalogue down, “I guess you’re right, Rei-kun. Let’s get some sleeping bags.” They grabbed a couple before finding another sports bag, where they started arranging them in.

                “Do you think we’ll need a thermos? Maybe a kettle?” Rei asked.

“It wouldn’t hurt to bring them along,” Makoto mused, taking the thermos and kettle that Rei had handed to him. They continued looking around a bit in silence before Makoto exclaimed, “We’ll probably need a portable cooking stove, right?”

                Rei walked over to where he stood and inspected the stove, happily smiling, “A collapsible stove, huh?” It was circular, with an area in the center to put the burning coals and an iron rack on which the pots/pans where placed when cooking. It was small and lightweight, perfect for their trip. “We definitely need this,” Rei said, picking up the stove and folding it up on its hinges.

                “We’ll need lighter fluid,” Makoto mumbled to himself, going off to look for the item. He returned with the fluid, matches, a lighter, a sturdy rope, and sunscreen. “You can never be too careful,” Makoto smiled sheepishly when he received a raised eyebrow from Rei.

                “No, Makoto-senpai, I was not criticizing you. I was merely surprised that I hadn’t thought of that,” he reached into the pack and showed Makoto the water purifying tablets and filter that he’d found. “This is a necessity, isn’t it?” he asked.

                Makoto quickly nodded, “Of course! We won’t get very far without clean water to drink.” He then grabbed a pack of assorted batteries and threw them into the bag, “For the flashlights.” Rei nodded. It seemed as if all the necessary items had been accounted for. They went to join the others who were at the register.

                “Did you guys get any weapons?” Rin asked as he glanced at the duffle bag which was clearly just filled with items that were needed for the trip but that wouldn’t do much to defend them.

                They both shifted restlessly on their feet, until Makoto answered, “Not really…”

                Rin sighed, then motioned to the others, “We’re all pretty much armed, so take your pick on which weapon you think would be best for Makoto and Ryugazaki and hand it up.”

                Nagisa looked down at his belt, which had all kinds of knives and even an ax strapped onto it. His hand rested on the hilt of what looked like a machete. He had two bows and two sets of arrows in their own respective quivers strapped onto his back. Aiichiro had a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and smaller, yet still definitely dangerous, knives strapped onto his own belt. On his back he also had a baseball bat which he’d secured between the bow and quiver so it wouldn’t fall. Rin had about three baseball bats sticking out of the duffle bag full of food he’d been carrying, and had a small golf bag slung across his back which had a few golf clubs and even some hockey sticks poking out of the top. At his waist, strapped onto a belt identical to the ones that Nagisa and Aiichiro were wearing, were three axes, two knives, and some slingshots. Haruka had some baseball bats and golf clubs as well but also had an insane looking trident strapped across his back along with a net; on his belt were knives, a small hatchet, and some fishing lures.

                Haruka took a baseball bat from his bag and handed it to Makoto. “Here, I think this one’s good for you,” he said quietly.

                Makoto lifted the bat and was surprised that it was perfectly balanced in his grip. He smiled at Haru before accepting a belt from Nagisa and strapping on a few knives. He declined the ax that Rin offered him, and instead accepted a golf club and another bat from Haru. He preferred weapons that were much less lethal than those his friends had managed to get their hands on.

                His attention was caught by some clothes that were in Haruka’s duffle. New clothes.

                “Um, Haru? What is that?” Makoto asked, pointing inside of his bag.

                Rin reached over and snatched the cloth from his bag before laughing a bit, “Really, Haru? A swimsuit?”

                Haru turned red before he plucked the article of clothing from Rin. “Yes, a swimsuit. It might come in handy.”

                Makoto tilted his head quizzically, “Aren’t you wearing a swimsuit already though?”

                “I don’t see your point,” Haru deadpanned. He opened up the bag and reached in to show other pieces he’d found, “I got each of you one, just in case we do find use for them in the future.” He then tossed them back into his duffle bag and quickly zipped it up.

                “Rei-chan! This is for you!” Nagisa chirped, sliding off a bow and a quiver, and effectively changing the subject. He gave the weapons to Rei, who took them gingerly into his hands.

                He ran his hands over the bow, his mouth making a small “o”. “The craftsmanship is sublime, it has such an amazing build,” he pulled the bowstring; “It’s in perfect condition!” He notched an arrow and let it fly, accidently taking out a light fixture. “I’ll have to learn how to use it quickly if I’m to do this beautifully,” he mumbled to himself as he went to retrieve the arrow. He was also given a belt which Nagisa stocked with knives and an ax before handing him two hockey sticks that he managed to wheedle out of Rin.

                After everyone seemed to be sorted out and armed, Makoto hefted the heavy bag filled with things they’d grabbed off the shelves onto the counter. The other boys looked at him quizzically, to which he answered feebly, “We have to pay for what we’re taking.”

                “There’s no one here,” Rin huffed, pointing at Haru, “We checked the entire shop while you guys were still looking at stuff. It was empty.”

                Makoto pulled out some money from his pocket and left it on the counter as he picked up the duffle bag again. Rin raised an eyebrow. “We can’t just steal these things,” Makoto said defensively.

                Rin put a hand on Makoto’s shoulder, “Makoto, we aren’t stealing. Well, technically not stealing. This is an emergency situation. And,” he said, reaching over to snatch the money from the counter before handing it back to Makoto, “we might need this eventually. Just leave a little note or something,” Rin added when he saw how uncomfortable Makoto was at the prospect of just taking things.

                Haru got Makoto a pen and some paper, on which Makoto scribbled _Sorry we took your stuff. We’ll pay you back eventually._

                Pulling their bags onto their shoulders they went outside and found Coach Sasabe talking to Miss Miho Amakata.

                “Miss Amakata?” Nagisa asked.

                “Why hello Nagisa,” she then turned to the other boys and bade them hello. “I was just about to leave town when Goro here flagged me down. He asked if I’d give you a ride out as well, and since I have a lot of room to spare, it isn’t a problem.” She smiled brightly and pointed at the blue 15-passenger van that was parked at the curb.

                Goro then went over the weapons that the boys had picked out before quickly running inside and bringing with him three baseball bats, a machete, an ax, and two belts full of knives. He split his weapons with Miho, and then they ushered the boys into her van. It seated two people in the front, had three middle seat sections which seated three people each and a section at the very back, where luggage could be kept, that seated four people. They jumped in and settled themselves with Miho at the wheel and Goro being her co-pilot, Makoto and Haru in the first middle seats, Rei and Nagisa in the second middle seats, and Nitori and Rin in the back seats.

                Miho strapped her seatbelt, “Where to, Goro?”

Goro looked back at the boys, at his swimmers, now turned into a scared apocalyptic survivor group, and then turned back to Miss Amakata, “To Samezuka Academy.”

* * *

 

                Along the way to Samezuka, they stopped and picked up Keiichi, Rei’s older brother, Izumi and Hiro, Nagisa’s older sisters and all of their things. Any extra space in Amakata’s van was quickly filling up with all their things.

                Once at Samezuka, Makoto, Haru, Nagisa, Rei, Rin, and Nitori were the ones who went out looking for Gou and Seijuro, leaving everyone else to wait in the van. As they got closer to the dorms, Rin pulled out his phone and called his sister.

                “Gou?...Yes, we’re here…you’re waiting up in the dorms?…okay, we’ll be right up – wait, have you talked to mom?...still nothing…okay…see you in five,” he hung up the phone with a sigh. “They’re up in Captain Mikoshiba’s dorm room with our things,” he said to Aiichiro, opening up the main entrance.

                 They made their way up to the third floor where their rooms were. They went down the hall until they got to room 201. Nitori was about to knock on the door when Rin threw it open. Gou had her back to the group, gazing out the window with her cell phone held against her chin. Seijuro was sitting on his bed, rifling through his bag apparently making sure everything he needed was packed. They both turned to the group when the door was opened.

                “Brother!” Gou squealed, throwing her arms around Rin.

                “Gah,” Rin grunted, but hugged her back nonetheless. He looked up at Seijuro and asked, “Are you ready?”

                Seijuro got up and stretched, “About as ready as I’ll ever be for a zombie apocalypse.” He rubbed his eyes then bent over and picked up three duffle bags. He tossed one to Aiichiro and another to Rin, “Here are your things, but you should probably run to your room really fast to see if I might’ve missed something.”

                Rin and Nitori did as they were told, and whilst they were in their room, Rei took the opportunity to check a few things on his laptop.

                After having plugged in his charger in order to conserve energy he asked, “Um, Captain Mikoshiba?” The golden eyed boy turned to Rei and motioned for him to ask, “Do you think I could have the wi-fi password?”

                He seemed surprised by Rei’s request but gave him the password without question. Once Rei had access to the internet, he began downloading files left and right, as fast as he possibly could. Sei glanced over his shoulder and asked, “What are you doing?”

                Rei adjusted his glasses and answered Mikoshiba’s question without taking his eyes off the screen, “I’m downloading every article that I can find about this new epidemic. I’m also getting any zombie related theories and all the cures or protocols used in zombie films, TV shows, and books. In short, I’m getting any information available pertaining to zombies. Especially anything written by a certain German scientist.” He was intently focused for a few more seconds before he exclaimed, “Aha! I’ve gotten all the necessary information I need!”

                Mikoshiba looked at him incredulously, “You’ve downloaded all of that information already?”

                “Oh course not, Captain Mikoshiba. It’d take a much longer time to actually download _everything_ zombie related, so I’ve only downloaded the most relevant things, which seem to all have a lot in common, making it easier to come up with some sort of theory about all of this,” Rei replied, shutting off his laptop and stowing it in his bag.

                Rin and Aiichiro then emerged from their room with their bags. “Okay, now let’s go back to the van and head over to my house,” Rin said, making his way to the stairs as everyone followed him.

* * *

 

                “This it?” Miho asked the Matsuoka siblings.

                “Yeah, this is the place,” Gou answered, unbuckling her seat belt and sliding open the door once Miss Amakata had parked the van.

                The majority of the group piled out of the van and followed Gou, who took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the front door. “Mom, I’m home!” Gou called out and heard some shuffling somewhere in the house as a response. She then turned to the group, “Make yourselves at home, grab something to eat. I’m going to pack a quick bag for my mom and one for me. I’ll be downstairs in a few,” she finished, bounding up the stairs two at a time.

                Nagisa’s sisters seemed completely disinterested in the group and left to wait in the van. Nagisa noticed and shot Rei a worried look.

                Rei turned to his older brother and asked quietly, “Could you maybe keep an eye on Nagisa’s sisters, please? We really don’t want them wandering off or messing with our provisions.”

                Keiichi smiled, “’Course, Rei.” He then walked out the front door and joined the other girls.

                Miho went into the Matsuoka’s downstairs bathroom and began to put her hair up in a ponytail. _Much more efficient when on the run_ , Miho mused, running the brush through her hair to get rid of any knots before she began to pull it up.

                The other boys were just sitting around in the living room, waiting for Gou and her mom to come downstairs so that they could leave.

                Upstairs, Gou quickly threw in clothes and shoes that she would need for the trip to Tokyo. She was terrified of the reason _why_ they had to travel to Tokyo, but she had convinced herself that they would just drive there and be evacuated. This would all be something that they’d look back on once they were in Tokyo being boarded onto their plane and remember as an unfortunate event.

                Satisfied that she had gotten the essentials, she exited her room and went into her mother’s room. The room was empty, the sheets a tangle on the bed. Her mother was probably somewhere downstairs, maybe in the study. She opened up the door to her closet and began grabbing things that she knew her mother would probably need for their trip and began folding it neatly before laying it on the bed. She looked over at her mother’s bedside table and saw that the phone wasn’t on its receiver. She had at first ignored it, but old habits won out, and she walked around to the other side of the bed to look amongst the sheets for the phone.

                She didn’t get too far though. Gou screamed.

                The sheets had been blocking the scene from view.

                Her mother’s side of the bed was slick with blood. Drenched. There was so much blood. Too much for a human to lose and still be alive. The phone was on the ground, along with bloody hand marks as if someone had dragged themselves out of the bed once having dropped the phone and had kept trying to scrabble around for a bit. Her mother’s body wasn’t there.

* * *

 

                Rin had noticed that the sliding glass door to the backyard had been left open, which reminded him of what he kept in the shed. He jogged out into the backyard and into the shed and reached for the nearest object, the only one not coated in a thick film of dust: his father’s old Swiss army knife. He picked it up and quickly pocketed it, then began to make his way back inside when he noticed very vibrant paint coloring the side of the house. He went over to inspect it and gasped.

                It wasn’t paint. It was blood. There were the mangled remains of a rat carcass strewn about the side. Rin’s stomach churned. He knew what this meant.

                There was a zombie near.

                He then heard his little sister’s blood curdling scream.

                “Gou!” he shouted, sprinting inside, but not before he noticed the red that stained the sliding glass door, marks he hadn’t noticed until viewing the door from the outside.

                The others, and even Keiichi, Izumi, and Hiro, were already at the stairwell when Rin arrived and were staring up at a shocked Gou. Her eyes were wide and glassy, frantic, and she was shaking. She wouldn’t speak, couldn’t trust her voice. The only thing she managed to whisper was, “Mom…”

                Rin pushed past the others and came to the front of the group, “What about Mom? Did her fever get worse?” His mind wasn’t functioning correctly, he’d seen too many things, hadn’t heard enough things, and now his sister was scaring him with news about his mom; however, somewhere deep inside he knew what had happened but didn’t want to admit it.

                From the opposite end of the hall, where the study was, there was the creak of floorboards, followed by a groan. The group slowly turned towards the noise, but couldn’t quite make out what was hiding among the shadows since the hallway light was off. No one seemed to breathe as the slow shuffling got closer and closer, until the person gradually became more visible.

                Red hair that had obviously been falling out since the last time she’d been out and eyes that had rolled back into her skull. Hands hooked and looking like claws, covered in what could only be assumed to be blood. Mouth stained red as well, with some of the blood dribbling down to her clothes. She had a nasty-looking infected cut on her arm that was slowly oozing blood. The rest of her body had nasty sores and other wounds of varying degrees where her flesh had slowly begun to rot. She turned unseeing eyes on the group and began to reach out for them, making throaty gurgling noises as she continued to shuffle towards them.

                “M-mom..?” Rin choked on his tears.

                His mother lunged at them, only to be swatted to the side by Coach Sasabe’s baseball bat with a sickening crunch. “That isn’t your mother anymore, kid. She’s gone,” Coach told the Matsuoka siblings. Rin still looked horribly upset, tears were streaming down his face, but he reached for a baseball bat nonetheless. He’d chanced a quick glance at Gou. Gou was still at the top of the stairs, eyes fixated on what had once been their mother, hand over her mouth to keep the choking sobs quiet. Seeing his little sister so afraid and distraught gave him the push he needed to have to take out their mom. No, not their mom. _The zombie_ , he reminded himself. He looked around at the others. The rest of the group had varying degrees of sadness, fear, and deep discomfort written on their faces as they reached for their weapon or as they stood rooted to the spot in fear. Aiichiro looked petrified with terror yet stood ramrod straight beside his best friend, throwing knives at the ready. Rin met his gaze and nodded.

                The zombie had already gotten slowly up again, dragging its limbs in a slow and disturbing manner. Coach Sasabe’s blow had dislodged its shoulder, making one arm dangle sickeningly as it moved around. It had just begun to move toward them when Nitori took one knife and threw it, impaling it between the zombie’s eyes.

                It was thrown back a bit by the force and weight of the weapon but only snarled at the group and continued on, bent on getting to them. There were gasps, quiet sobs, and a whispered “Oh my God.” They knew they were dealing with the undead, yet they were still thinking as if it were still a person. Any _living_ person who got a throwing knife to the head was probably either severely injured or dead, whilst the zombie only made it seem like a mild discomfort as it kept going. It was as if by unspoken agreement that they knew what they had to do next. They had to actually either chop off the head or completely destroy the brain. The mere thought made Rin want to throw up, but he had to keep his friends and his little sister safe. They were all he had left.

                He stepped forward and was about to swing the bat when the light caught on a small piece of jewelry that the zombie was wearing. It was a necklace that his father had gotten his mother on their five year anniversary. He’d been three, his little sister two. He remembered his father had come home that day with a giant bouquet of roses and chocolates and had scooped both of his kids onto his lap.

_“Do you think your mother will like this?” He asked them nervously as he showed them the necklace he’d gotten for her._

_“Yes!” Rin giggled, “It’s so pretty!”_

_His father kissed the top of their heads, “Then let me go show it to her then.”_

_He went into the kitchen, where his wife was washing the dishes and humming a melodic tune. He’d covered her eyes and had whispered in a fake accent, “Guess who…”_

_She’d laughed and had turned toward him, dishes forgotten, and gave him a kiss, “Why, you’re home early.”_

_He smiled broadly, “Of course I’m home early, dear. Now, close your eyes.” She complied without question and with a curious smile tugging at her lips. He’d taken the necklace from its case and quickly fastened it onto her. “There,” he replied, satisfied with his handiwork._

_Looking down, she saw the beautiful necklace and gingerly laid her hand onto it. “Oh,” she whispered, turning wide eyes onto her husband, “It’s amazing.”_

_“Just like you,” he replied, pulling her into a loving embrace and whispering, “Happy Anniversary.”_

                As quickly as it had begun, he was pulled back from the flashback, yet stood frozen in place as the zombie kept approaching. Goro had already begun to push Rin to the side to finish the zombie off when there was a gruesome snap and they were both sprayed with blood as the zombie pitched forward.

                Miss Amakata stood where the zombie had been, ax still in the air where she’d made contact with the body. Rin looked down at the body and felt himself stumble backwards. Goro caught him and slowly walked him out of the house as he began to cry. Gou was also in a similar state. She fell to her knees at the top of the stairs and didn’t move. She didn’t cry or scream. She only looked at the body with a horrified expression. Seijuro made his way up the steps and, upon noticing that she wasn’t going to object, lifted up Gou and her duffle bag. He carried her downstairs and out the front door, carefully stepping over the body.

                The others stood horrified, rooted to the spot. It was finally Miss Amakata who said, “We have to go.” The group quickly shuffled out, some with tears streaming down their face, others who seemed to be fighting the urge to cry, and some who seemed to want to get sick. Once everyone was out, Miss Amakata bent over, and, careful not to touch anything that she thought could get her infected, plucked Ms. Matsuoka’s necklace from her unmoving body. She’d seen how Rin had frozen up when he’d seen it, and knew it had sentimental value to the Matsuoka’s, so she would give it to them. It was the least she could do, after having smashed in their mom’s head. She also pulled free Aiichiro’s knife before grabbing a dishrag and heading out to the van.

                 Gou still wasn’t talking. Rin had reined some control over himself, but tears were still streaming down his face. Miho tossed the dishrag to Aiichiro who quickly used it to wipe the gore off of Rin. No one spoke much. They just stood around for a few more minutes until Rei pointed out, “We aren’t safe here. We should probably get going.” He quickly looked over at Rin, expecting him to lash out and maybe stab him with the knife that Aiichiro was wiping clean, and regretted sounding so insensitive when expressing his opinion. That’s why he was surprised by what happened next.

                 “He’s right,” Rin whispered. He then cleared his throat and climbed into the back of the van once more. Aiichiro quickly followed him after having given Coach Sasabe the dishrag so he could clean himself and his weapon. Gou went in after him, and Sei was just about to climb in as well when Miss Amakata put a gentle hand on his arm.

                 “Here,” she said, pressing the necklace into his hand. “Give this to Gou when…when she seems a bit better. It was their mother’s.”

                 Seijuro nodded his thanks and followed Gou inside. Makoto and Haruka took the seats in front of theirs, and Nagisa and Rei got the ones in front of Mako and Haru’s. Keiichi, Izumi, and Hiro took the first row of middle seats, which left Miss Amakata the driver’s seat and Goro the copilot seat once again.

                They drove in silence for a few minutes until they’d gotten out of town, when Miho asked Goro, “Which route are we taking to get to Tokyo?”

                Goro thought about that for a few minutes, glancing back at his seemingly broken and obviously terrified group of kids before pulling out his cell phone and showing Miho a map, “We’re going to drive until we hit Ise, make a ‘rest stop’ of sorts, find out if there’s anything new, then we’ll see from there.”

                She continued on the small road until she got to Owase twenty minutes later, where she was able to get onto the highway. It was about an hour and a half drive to Ise. Without any traffic, they’d be able to shave off at least a few minutes off the trip time, so they silently drove off toward the city.

* * *

 

                  They arrived at Ise at around 1 in the afternoon. Miho drove around until she found the Ise Red Cross Hospital where she killed the engine. Goro and she had noticed that the city was eerily empty, with only a few people walking around, most of them with weapons. They’d regarded the newcomers with a passing glance, not really caring about them unless they tried to mess with them. In the parking lot, Miho and Goro had been quietly discussing which route they’d take to make their way to Tokyo when the others began to slowly rouse themselves from sleep.

                “Where are we?” Nagisa mumbled, rubbing at his eyes blearily and raising his head from its previous position of leaning on Rei’s shoulder.

                Coach Sasabe looked back, “We’re here to ask about the situation here in Ise, before maybe asking about where we’d be able to stay for the night.” He turned back to look at the hospital. “We’ve had a very rough day,” he added, glancing at Gou and Rin through the rearview mirror. Gou was asleep, snuggled into Seiuro’s side, who was also still sleeping with his head resting on hers. Nitori was asleep beside Rin, who was nodding off, slowly dozing until he jerked awake. His silent tears had stopped falling some time ago, but he was still obviously upset, and with good reason.

                The Matsuoka siblings had seen their mother become a monster. They’d seen their friends turn on her to deliver the finishing blow. Hell, _Rin_ had been ready to deal the finishing blow. It was a lot to take in, too much shock and sadness to deal with in such a small period of time.

                Goro turned to take note of how the others were coping: Makoto and Haru were both fast asleep, Makoto leaning against the window and Haru using Mako’s shoulder as a pillow. Rei had woken up when Nagisa had asked his question and was taking in his surroundings. Nagisa’s sisters were on their phones, and Keiichi was asleep, slouched in his seat.

                Watching the doors to the hospital carefully, Goro finally decided to go inside and ask. “I’ll be right back,” he muttered to Miss Amakata, climbing out of the van and jogging into the hospital.

                Miho grabbed Goro’s cell phone and examined the map he still had on display. _Hmm, five hours from here to Tokyo…_ she thought. They’d be able to make it in one day. They could even leave right now. She glanced back at the group, seeing how tired, sad, and _terrified_ they all looked. She’d love it if they were able to leave right then, but they weren’t prepared for such a journey after everything that had happened to them so far. Miho sighed and turned back to the hospital in time to see Goro running back to the van.

                He jumped in and smiled brightly, “They say we can take a house on the outskirts of town, near Isuzu Park. We’ll be able to rest, and then we can leave tomorrow, bright and early!” He twisted in his seat to look at how the others were taking the news. Those who were awake seemed interested in the prospect of having someplace to stay.

                “That seems like a plan, for now anyways,” Rei said.

                 Miho shrugged and turned on the van, easing her way out of the parking space and getting onto the road again. “What did you see in the hospital?” she asked quietly, trying to keep the others from hearing.

                Sasabe turned to her and whispered, “What gave it away?”

                She smiled at him, “Mr. Sasabe, you’d never grin like that during such a dire situation unless you were trying to hide something.”

                He sighed, “You have a very observant eye, Miss Amakata.”

                Miho laughed, “You have to in order to be a Literature Professor.” She then took her eyes off the road momentarily to look Goro in the eye whilst asking, “What was it?”

                Sasabe scowled, “There’s a lot of people who are sick in there. Fever. Difficulty swallowing. Infected wounds.” He looked out onto the road, “I warned them about Mrs. Matsuoka, but they wouldn’t listen. They said it’d been days since these people had come in contact with the infected, and that all they were was just sick.” He looked very doubtful of that notion. “As soon as day breaks tomorrow, we’re leaving,” he confirmed.

                They drove in silence until reaching the edge of town by Isuzu Park, and then they began to look for a house that seemed abandoned and like a nice fit for the night. In the end they settled with a roomy, two-story house with a nice view of the woods. Once parked out at front, everyone began to pile out blearily.

                Nagisa’s sisters, Miho, Haruka, and Rei prepared a quick improvised meal for the group before setting up watches. Haruka and Makoto would take the first watch, Rei and Nagisa would take the second, Nitori and Seijuro would take the third, Miho and Goro would take the fourth, and Nagisa’s sisters would take the last shift with Keiichi. It was decided that Rin and Gou wouldn’t be given work to do since their loss was still fresh on their minds. It was fresh in everyone’s mind, but it was going to be obviously worse for the siblings. If anything, Mrs. Matsuoka’s turning just made the danger much more real for _everyone_.

                It was around 6 in the afternoon when people began to drift off to sleep. Gou and Rin had left much earlier, probably to mourn their mother alone, whilst the rest began to say their good nights. Nagisa’s sisters took up a small child’s room on the second floor. Keiichi crashed on the couch by the entrance. Gou fell asleep in the matrimonial bedroom with Sei sitting beside her and lightly stroking her hair to keep her calm while she slept. Rin fell asleep on the loveseat in that same room, with Nitori pulling up a sleeping bag and settling down on the floor beside him. Miho and Goro were going to bunk together in bunk beds they found in what seemed to be a room that had been inhabited by siblings. Nagisa and Rei were going to sleep in the living room, where Haru and Makoto were going to keep watch.

                Haru was sitting on the floor, leisurely flipping through a stack of books he’d found on swimming. Makoto was fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt, upset due to the day’s events. Rei tossed and turned on his couch for a while before Nagisa propped himself up from the other couch and asked, “Rei-chan? What’s wrong?”

                Rei sat up and turned to the group, who’d turned their attention on him. He picked up his glasses and fixed them on his face, “We need to ask Gou-san when her mother got sick.”

                Makoto gently opposed Rei’s idea, “Rei-kun, I don’t think we should talk about Mrs. Matsuoka anytime soon yet…and besides, why does it matter when she got sick?”

                Blowing out a huff of air, Rei trundled on, “Makoto-senpai, she was apparently sick _before_ she turned. She was probably infected somehow, and that sickness was a result of the infection spreading and slowly killing her. After she was dead, that same virus that killed her brought her back as a…” He trailed off when he received a sharp look from Haru.

                Nagisa immediately picked up where Rei had left off, not deterred in the slightest by Haru’s slight glare, “That would make sense! I mean, did you see how that one cut on her arm was still bleeding? That was probably where she’d received the cut that got her infected!”

                Makoto blanched as understanding dawned on him, “Oh my God. So sickness is the first stage, the one that kills you, before…”

                “Reanimation,” Haru breathed, turning towards Makoto and also seeing sense in Rei’s theory.

                They stayed quiet for a long time, until finally Haru said, “Nagisa-kun, Rei-kun, go to sleep. You’ll need to stay awake during your watch. We’ll wake you up in three hours.”

                Rei and Nagisa did as they were told, going to sleep in order to be adequately rested for their watch. Makoto looked out the window nervously, worried about what could go wrong as the last few rays of sunshine were extinguished with the setting sun. Haru noticed how worried he looked and nudged him with his shoulder gently.

                Makoto looked at him and smiled slightly, knowing that things would be alright as long as he was still with Haru. He briefly remembered how he’d felt holding Haru. When had that even happened? Makoto contemplated that silently until he gasped. _It’d only happened that morning._

                Haru seemed to be keeping pace with Makoto’s thoughts as he said, “It seems strange…how this morning we had what now seem to be meaningless problems.”

                Nodding his head in agreement, Makoto turned his thoughts back on that morning. It had seemed to have happened a lifetime ago, a perfect lifetime ago. Haru was also remembering how snug and secure he’d felt in Makoto’s arms – something that he’d give anything for to be feeling again. What had occurred to them that morning had seemed to have happened in another universe altogether.

                They continued to think in silence for a while longer before Makoto grabbed a nearby novel that had been left on a coffee table and began to read. Haru watched him before slowly turning to face the door and leaned his back onto Makoto’s, who’d already turned so he could watch the window.

                “Read to me?” Haru asked quietly. He felt Makoto nod and then heard him begin reading. It was actually a poetry book, filled with poems by various authors. Surprisingly, he felt extremely at ease with Makoto reading to him, despite the circumstances. Makoto felt just as comfortable, and could feel Haru begin to hum as he listened to him read in a low tone.

                And that was how they settled in to keep watch for the rest of their shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was it? Was the zombie description even good? Was the scene heartbreaking? How about the weapons choices? Were those adequate? Did anyone catch the 50% Off reference?
> 
> Btw, if anyone knows how to add links in the notes, please let me know. I need to find out so that I can start dropping little links in here for you guys!
> 
> Hope you guys liked it, see you next month!


	3. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finds themselves in the midst of an infected city. It'll take everything they have to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm feeling hella generous today and decided to put up the chapter early.  
> Hope you like it :)

                It was about four in the morning when a noise startled Goro awake. “Fuck,” he grumbled, knowing he’d fallen asleep while on watch. He looked over and saw that Miho had done the same, face cushioned by her arms as she slumped forward in her chair at the kitchen table. “Miss Amakata,” he whispered, pushing her chair with his foot lightly.

                “Mmm,” she murmured, still asleep.

                He leaned over and shook her slightly, “Wake up, we’re on watch.” She lifted her head, brown hair askew, and blinked several times. She seemed to be about to say something when they heard a crash and a cat screech outside. They looked over toward the back door apprehensively, knowing that that was where the noise had originated from. Goro put a finger to his lips in a quieting gesture and grabbed his baseball bat, along with a flashlight in order to investigate with adequate light and some form of protection.

                Miho followed along as well, gripping her own bat worriedly. When they reached the door they tried to see if they could hear anything. They strained themselves silently to see if they could pick up on some sort of noise that would alert them to any form of danger that could be lurking outdoors. Once certain that there was nothing that could cause immediate danger outside, Goro grabbed a hold of the door handle and wrenched it open, tossing his flashlight at Miho. Miho flipped on the flashlight and shined it out into the backyard, bathing the scene before them in light.

                There were two zombies tearing apart what seemed to be a cat carcass. They were hunched over the body, biting and tearing, faces covered in blood, nails ripping apart flesh and fur. It was a savage frenzy to sate their appetite with living flesh. They were wearing what looked like something a patient would wear at a hospital.

                  Goro swore.

                  And they heard him.

               One of the zombies looked away from the meal before it long enough to register that Goro and Miho were standing a few feet away looking shocked and terrified. It hissed at them, baring blood red teeth and the cat’s entrails which it had been feasting on seconds before. It slowly righted itself from its previously hunched position and began to sluggishly make its way toward them.

                 That was when Goro and Miho snapped out of their terrified paralysis and slammed the door shut. “Those zombies, they came from the hospital. All those sick people, they were still in the process of _turning_ -” there was a loud bang on the door that cut Goro off.

                Miho didn’t need to hear any more. She nodded her understanding before dashing upstairs to wake up those that were on the second floor whilst Goro woke up the few that were asleep on the ground floor.

                Nitori and Mikoshiba hadn’t yet fallen asleep since they’d only been on watch a little over an hour ago, so they’d heard the noise outside and had begun to rouse Rin and Gou from where they slept. Miho just peeked her head inside and seeing that they were already getting up only said, “Grab your things and come downstairs,” before running to the other occupied room on the second floor and waking up Nagisa’s sisters.

              Goro quickly woke up Keiichi who’d been asleep on the couch at the entrance before going on into the living room and waking up Rei, Nagisa, Makoto, and Haru. It didn’t take too long before everyone was down and assembled in the kitchen.

                 “Ah, Coach Sasabe,” Nagisa yawned, “what’s wrong?”

                 His question was answered when the thumps at the back door increased in volume momentarily before going back to muffled constant they’d been before.

             “I’m just going to go straight to the point,” Goro huffed, “there’s zombies out there.” The temperature of the room dropped a few degrees as everyone digested the information. Sasabe ran a slightly trembling hand through his hair as he said, “They’ve come from the hospital. All those sick people, they’d all been in contact with those who’d been infected. The sickness was the first stage of turning,” the Iwatobi boys exchanged a knowing glance whilst Goro kept talking, “those who hadn’t been infected at the hospital are probably dead, or are with other survivor groups like us.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, something he always did whenever he felt exceptionally stressed, which was an understatement to how he felt right at the moment. He had to get the kids out, but there was no knowing how many of those wretched monsters were crawling around the city. Plus, it was still dark out, giving the zombies the advantage since they don’t just work off of sight alone – they have a pretty good sense of smell and great hearing capabilities, and can be pretty quiet when they want to. It’d be all too easy to lead everyone to their own doom. Those were problems to consider later though. Right now they had to get moving before they became trapped within the house. “First things first: we’ve got to get out of here. Now. There’s no telling how quickly these things will overrun the place and break in,” he grabbed his weapons and a supply bag and shouldered his way out of the kitchen.

               No one argued with him as they followed his lead, grabbing their weapons and supplies and heading for the entrance. Miho quickly caught up with Goro and pulled him aside whilst the rest of the group took stock of their supplies and weapons. “Mr. Sasabe, don’t be so hard on yourself,” she whispered, seeing that he was visibly mad at himself for having let the zombies get near on his watch.

                “Miss Amakata, these kids are my responsibility. These monsters got close because I got careless and fell asleep-“

                “ _We_ fell asleep,” Miho corrected, wanting to help lighten the burden Goro felt.

                He gave her a wry smile, “Yeah, _we_ screwed up.” Scratching the back of his head he added, “As long as we get them out of here I’ll forgive myself for having screwed up so badly at a time like this.”

                She elbowed him lightly, “Geez, lighten up. ‘ _The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall._ ”

                “Nelson Mandela?” He guessed with an arched eyebrow.

              “Very good,” Miho chirped, patting his arm, “Gold star for such a hard working student. But seriously, it doesn’t matter that you messed up, as long as you make sure your screw up doesn’t keep you on the ground for too long.”

                “Thank you, Miss Amakata,” Goro whispered, feeling much better after having heard her kind words.

               “Please, call me Miho,” she replied, taking a hold of a flyaway strand of hair and tucking it back into her pony tail. “We’ve got to stop being so formal around each other, I mean, it’s a zombie apocalypse for crying out loud. We have absolutely no time for formalities,” she finished.

              “Well then, you can call me Goro,” he answered back with a much more sincere smile. He was glad he had a friend he could confide in and count on during such trying circumstances. He was glad he had a friend, period. On a whim, he asked her, “How about we go out and grab a cup of coffee after all of this is over?”

                She turned to him, a bit surprised, “You’re asking me out at a time like _this?_ ”

               Goro flushed red almost instantaneously, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so stupid and imprudent, especially at a time like this, it’s just that I was thinking that it’d be fun you know, to go out sometime-“

                “Oh, Goro, you’re so sweet,” she smiled, and pinched his cheek affectionately, “Of course I’d love to go out. I’m going to hold you to that offer.”

                “I promise I’ll take you out to get the best cup of coffee you’ve ever had,” Goro laughed, hefting his bat over his shoulder and walking out to join the others.

                “It’s a promise then,” Miho grinned, grabbing her own bat as she followed him.

               Once in the midst of the group, Goro took out his cell phone and showed everyone a map of Ise and the surrounding areas, “As soon as we’re out, we’ll need to get into the van as fast as possible, then we’ll drive like hell and hope for the best.” He thought for a moment before continuing, “We’ll drive around the bay and keep going until we run out of fuel, then we’ll just refuel at any of the nearest towns. Let’s just hope that we won’t encounter too many zombies or any other problems, and we can be in Tokyo in a few hours.”

               “Let’s hope we encounter _no_ zombies,” Izumi muttered.

             “Yeah, let’s hope,” Goro murmured, taking a hold of the door knob. He turned back to the group, “On the count of three, I’m going to open this door. We’re going to sprint for the van and get in. Make sure you’ve got everything on you that you need. Keep any flashlights at the ready but don’t turn them on. We don’t know how they react to light.” He gave the group a sweeping glance, “Miss-Miho, come stand closest to the front, you are our designated driver after all,” he finished with a slight smile.

                She shouldered her way to the front of the group and fished her keys out of her pocket. “Ready!” she confirmed.

                “Alright,” Goro breathed, getting ready for what was to come next.

                “One…”

                Everyone made sure they had their bags strapped on and that there was no danger that they’d open up and drop their things.

                “Two…”

               They began to grip their weapons worriedly, drawing in deep breaths, trying their hardest not to freak out. It was getting harder and harder to keep calm; knowing that they’d be out in what was dangerous territory had them incredibly edgy and nervous. And the knocking from the back door that had increased in volume and intensity wasn’t helping either.

                “Three!”

                Goro threw open the door and rushed out, followed closely behind by the rest of the group as the back door splintered loudly. They didn’t get more than two steps out of the house before they froze at the scene they saw.

              There were about five zombies, all swarmed over something, a good 3 yards from where the van was parked. It was hard to tell what they were hunched over since it was still dark out; they heard more than saw them eating their prey. They were tearing and ripping and biting, gorging themselves on whatever was at the center of their crude circle. They were so ravenous and intent on devouring the thing in their midst that they had even begun to yank each other back and even snap at each other menacingly. It was like watching a vicious pack of carnivores tearing into a bloody hunk of meat after having been left to starve for about a week.

                 Coach Sasabe took a step back and whispered under his breath, “Get back inside.”

                 The group began to slowly inch back into the house trying to keep from being seen when suddenly the back door burst open, showing the two zombies that Goro and Miho had seen earlier. They sniffed the air, trying to find the group and focus on them.

                  No one moved. No one breathed.

                  Then, the zombies hissed, revealing blood stained teeth and extending bloodied claw-like hands in their direction.

                  “Oh dear Lord-“ Miho gasped, before feeling Goro take a hold of her wrist and throw her forward.

                  “GO!” he shouted. “INTO THE VAN!” He grabbed Nagisa and Aiichiro by their shirt collars and flung them out after Miho, “GO, DAMMIT!”

                  The rest of the group didn’t need Goro to shove them out the door; they sprinted towards the van. It was only about 20 feet from the front door. They could make it.

                  However, Goro’s shouts had alerted the other zombies of their presence. They lifted their heads in the direction of the noise, and began to growl and hiss excitedly at the prospect of having fresh meat to consume. They slowly got to their feet and shuffled in the direction of the running group.

              Miho ran around to the driver side of the door as everyone else started arriving at the van, looking over their shoulders terrified that the zombies were advancing. Miho’s hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t get the car key into the key hole to open it up and had begun to silently pray that she could just _please open up the doors_ because everyone had slowly started to shout and try to pry open the door and there was so much noise, she could swear she heard someone sobbing, and Goro was grabbing her shoulder reassuringly-

                 She was slammed into the van so hard she saw stars and dropped the keys. She focused hard on the van’s glass window to try and get a glimpse of the reflection of whoever had her pushed up into the van. By the light of the moon, she was able to see who was holding her. But, it wasn’t a who.

                   It was a what.

                 She could see the bloody hand on her shoulder holding her in place as the zombie slowly opened its mouth to deliver the killing bite. A scream tore from her throat just as she began to smell the putrid breath emitting from its jaws when suddenly there was a loud crack and the zombie body slammed into her before falling to the floor with a sickening crunch.

                  Slowly, she turned to see Goro with his baseball bat still in the air from where he’d hit the zombie. “You okay?” he asked. Miho could only nod as she shakily bent over to pick up her keys which had slid beneath the van when a terrified shriek made her stand up so fast she felt dizzy. It was coming from one of Nagisa’s sisters. Goro snatched a golf club from Miho’s own bag and thrust it into her hands, “Forget about the keys! We’re on foot now!” She couldn’t comprehend Goro’s words. _On…foot?_ They’d never make it.

                 There was a hiss to their left and Goro swung his bat at the noise with so much force that he broke the zombie’s arm clean off. That was what snapped her out of her thoughts and back into reality, making her realize that Goro was right. Running was the only chance they had now.

              The zombie Goro had hit seemed stunned for the moment so Goro and Miho ran over to the other side of the van, where the rest of group were fending off the remaining three zombies and the two oncoming zombies that had broken into the house and had finally made their way out to the front.

                   “Gah!” Mikoshiba shouted, swatting a zombie aside with his hockey stick. Because that was all they were basically doing: swatting them aside and yelling.

                 Nagisa’s sister, Hiro, had begun to shriek uncontrollably, not even trying to help fight the others back. She was just freaking out. Rei, Nagisa, and Izumi were the ones who were keeping the zombies at bay on their left side, whilst Mikoshiba, Aiichiro, and Keiichi kept the right side guarded, leaving Makoto, Haru, and a still obviously distraught Rin to keep the zombies back from the front. Gou and Hiro were in the center of the group, their backs pressed to the van as the zombies surged forward and pushed the fighters back a few steps. Even though the group outnumbered the zombies, they were still obviously afraid to actually _do_ more than swat the grotesque things back.

                Miho and Goro watched for a few seconds trying to see how they could help the group, before Miho shouted to them upon noticing their hesitation to actually _truly_ fight. “Fight them off!”

                   “We’re trying!” Rin grunted, hitting a zombie that had turned towards the sound of Miho’s voice, taking advantage of its momentary distraction.

                 “No, you aren’t!” Miho shouted back, putting the golf club Goro had given her back into her bag and bringing out her ax, “You guys are just treating them like pesky flies! These aren’t people anymore! They’re monsters! Stop pitying them; that won’t bring them back! They. Are. Monsters! You’ve got to keep that in mind! Any humanity they had in them is gone now! So stop swatting them around and start to _fight them_!”

                 She was right, the group had been loath to actually start and try to chop the zombies’ heads off; these used to be people. They used to have lives, and maybe even families. It was kind of hard to let all of that go and jump right into zombie fighter mode. Miho’s words helped the group come to terms with what they had to do in order to survive. It quelled their internal moral conflicts, and, most importantly, made sure they were ready to fight.

                 Amakata and Sasabe had just been about to jump into the fray and help out the teens when Keiichi made the first attempt to fight the zombies off. He stepped forward slightly and swung his hockey stick at the nearest zombie. He only managed to clip the front of the zombie’s face, but that’d been enough to swipe the zombie’s nose clean off.

                    “I’ve got your nose, bitch!” Keiichi yelled, triumphant at having dealt the zombie a blow. The zombie seemed completely unperturbed, if not a little surprised. It just surged forward again with a throaty growl.

                    “Now’s not the time for jokes, Keiichi!” Rei shouted over his shoulder, managing to find the time to scold his brother in such dire circumstances.

                   The zombie Goro had broken the arm off of was rounding the corner of the van, hissing viciously, seeming extremely ticked off that its prey had chopped off one of its extremities.

                Miho and Goro had been busy trying to distract the other zombies away from the group that they didn’t notice the zombie coming up to get them from behind. Aiichiro was the one who saw it sneaking up on them. He pulled out a throwing dagger and shouted, “Duck!” as he hurled the knife straight for the zombie. Goro and Miho threw themselves to the floor, turning in time to see the dagger rip through the zombie’s throat. It collapsed in a heap, the blade apparently having sliced through the thing’s spinal cord.

                      “Nice throw!” Goro shouted, finally getting the other zombies’ attention. A few of them turned and bared their teeth, hissing.

                  Mikoshiba quickly took advantage of their distraction and used his hockey stick to hit a zombie from behind. He swung hard and connected to the back of the zombie’s head, snapping the neck. It fell with a final guttural growl.

                      Rin grabbed a tight hold of his baseball bat and swung to the nearest zombie that’d turned toward Goro. His blow bashed the thing’s head in, making it also pitch forward, dead.

                       Four zombies down. Three to go.

                      Everyone now seemed to be ready to finish the fight but Goro knew they had to start running before all the noise they were making attracted more attention. “Hey!” he called, “We’ve got to get going! “

                      “We’ve got this, Coach!” Keiichi yelled, “We can finish these things off then get in the va-“

                       He was cut off by a string of insistent clicks and hisses, coming from somewhere in the darkness.

                    “We _have_ got to go!” Goro shouted more insistently, and this time, no one argued. The fighters just made one final swipe at the zombies to get them disorientated before they began running down the street, away from the hissing. It was a good thing that there were only three zombies left, making it much easier to escape from them.

                      They ran past what the zombies had been initially eating, only to find their suspicions confirmed: it’d been a person. The body had been rendered unrecognizable by how the zombies had devoured so much of it, but you could see blood stained tatters of clothes surrounding what seemed to be intestines. Nagisa made the mistake of turning for a second too long and almost threw up but just swallowed down the bile and kept running, knowing good and well that if anyone stopped that would be the fate that awaited them.

                      Goro was leading everyone at the front along with Miho, whispering to each other and debating which route would get them the farthest away from the zombies that were behind them the quickest. They ran with the forest to their right, the trees providing the perfect hiding spot and an alternate path in case they ran into zombies. Everyone was quiet and keeping up to the best of their ability, some, like those who were on the swim team and exercised on a daily basis, with no problem and others only spurred on by fear but already feeling the run taking its toll on them.

                         “We should go into the city, see if we can get help – or maybe a car,” Miho whispered, hitching her falling bag higher up on her shoulder.

                       Goro shook his head before adjusting his own bag a bit, “No, we shouldn’t go down to the city. I’m pretty sure it’s already been overrun by the zombies.” They began to slow down as they ran, seeing that ahead was the “fork” in the road, with the roads to the right all leading deeper into the city, whilst the roads to the left converged and became the road that ran parallel to the Kintetsu Toba Line and that ran straight through the woods. They had run for about a mile and came to a stop behind the Yamazaki Surgery Internal Medicine building on one of the bigger roads of the area they were in.

                       No one other than Goro and Miho had said anything during the run besides the occasional, “What was that?”, “Watch out for the ditch,” and “It’s okay, I’m fine.” Noticing that they would be stopping for a short while, everyone immediately began taking drinks from the water bottles they’d packed or taking a swig from someone else’s since they’d forgotten their own.

                           “It’s a great thing practice has been so rigorous recently, else I wouldn’t have been able to keep up,” Rin said, taking a long drink of water.

                           Nitori, nodding vigorously beside Rin, added, “It’s all thanks to the Captain’s training.”

                          Seijuro smirked half-heartedly, “Now I hope I don’t get any lip from either of you when I make you run so much.”

                        Seeing that Miho and Goro had separated themselves from the group, Makoto took two bottles over to them. They gratefully accepted them and began to drink, still muttering about the route they should take.

                          Makoto was going to walk away and let them decide on their own but his curiosity got the better of him as he asked, “So, where are we going, Coach?”

                        “Change of plans. We’ll be heading east, down the road that runs parallel to the Kintetsu Toba Line,” Goro pointed to the left, “After going down this street full of houses and crossing the canal, there are a few empty fields before another stretch of buildings and the Hirao and Aioi Shrines and then we get to the woods. It’s about two and a half miles of trees and forest we’ll cross and then we’ll get to Toba.” Makoto seemed to be keeping pace with what Coach Sasabe was saying, nodding and seemingly trying to make a mental picture of what they were going to be crossing as Goro continued, “When we’re in Toba we’ll head straight for the coast and keep that to our right, and when we get near the Hachiman Shrine we’ll be able to see Iruka Island.” Coach took a deep breath, hoping that his next part of the plan didn’t sound crazy to Makoto, “Then we’ll find a boat or ferry and try to cross the Ise Bay and get to Cape Irago.”

                       Miho had originally opposed Goro’s proposed plan but had begun to support it as she’d seen that his route would save them a lot of time if they went by sea instead of trekking the whole way to Tokyo on land. If they’d had a car it would be different but circumstances had pushed them to this, and Goro’s plan seemed to be the best and _only_ option they had. Now they just hoped that the rest of the group approved of the plan and willingly went through with it – and if they convinced Makoto that it was a good idea then it would be a giant step in the right direction in getting the whole group to think the same.

                          Thankfully, Makoto broke out in a smile and said, “It’s great that you’ve both thought so far ahead. I can tell the rest of the group which direction we’re heading if you want?”

                          “That would be wonderful Makoto,” Miho replied. As Makoto walked away Miho whispered to Goro, “See, they’ll follow you. We trust you.”

                          Goro looked over to the group to see Makoto quickly telling everyone the plan and getting everyone ready to set off. It was about a 9 mile journey which, if they walked, would take about 3 hours to get to the Hachiman Shrine, where they’d begin to look for some sort of sea vessel for the next leg of the trip. _Trip_ , Goro thought, _makes it sound like it’s some sort of leisurely vacation, like we’ll be coming back._ Turning back to Miho, Goro sighed, “At times like this, I almost wish you didn’t.”

* * *

 

                Crossing through the first small patch of houses had been easy. Going over the canal had been easier still, since the sound of the water calmed everyone’s nerves; it made them feel that if the water could be so calm during such a terrible time, then they could too. (And the fact that Haru tried to strip down to his swimsuit and take a dip did help alleviate the tension somewhat. Makoto almost had to pick him up and carry him away from the canal to keep going.) Walking down the road along the empty fields had been a bit unnerving, but the eeriest of all had been walking along the buildings near the Hirao and Aioi Shrines. Everything was so empty, so quiet; only the occasional click and growl in the distance. Even though it had been 5 in the morning when they crossed through there, almost about an hour since they’d left the house by Isuzu Park, everything felt so weird. So wrong.

                So dead.

                Now, another 20 minutes later, they were deep in the woods, following the road they knew would lead them to Toba. They idly talked about things that seemed to have belonged to another life, like the Iwatobi Swim Club’s training trip to the beach and when Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa had been reunited with Rin. These memories made the group smile and laugh, and it also gave them something to want to fight for. Gou still wasn’t talking, just quietly standing at the back of the group with Seijuro, Rin, and Nitori who were participating in the conversations. Izumi and Hiro were laughing and joking with Keiichi, whom they’d taken an immediate liking to. Everyone was starting to feel comfortable and at ease.

                “It sure is weird not hearing any birds about,” Nitori observed, glancing at the trees.

                “Animals are always more in tune to their surroundings than we are,” Goro explained, “as soon as they sensed trouble, they probably flew somewhere else.”

                Rin ruffled Aiichiro’s hair, “Don’t get so worked up about it, Ai.” He put his hands behind his head, “Plus, we’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

                “Rei-chan!” Nagisa exclaimed, throwing himself onto Rei’s back to turn him around and to turn the conversation back to something more pleasant, “Look at the sunrise!”

                  Sure enough, brilliant rays of sunlight had begun to streak over the trees from the west, bathing the road in honey. Rei fixed his glasses into place and allowed himself a small smile.

                “It sure is beautiful, Nagisa-kun.”

                Everyone else had turned to see the sunrise as well, admiring how beautiful the scene truly was. Nobody said it, but they all knew that there was a very high possibility that their sunrises were numbered. They had to enjoy everything whilst they still could.

                So they did…for about 5 minutes or so.

                “We have to keep going,” Haru muttered, putting his strap back on his shoulder and starting down the road again. Reluctantly, everyone followed his lead without complaint.

                Everyone except for Gou.

                “Gou-kun?” Seijuro asked. Seeing that she was still standing where they’d been observing the sunset he made his way over to her. “Gou-kun, c’mon, we don’t want to be left behind.” Sei reached over to put a hand on her shoulder but she hastily jerked away and whirled on him.

                She was facing the ground, bangs obscuring her eyes. “I’m not going,” she whispered, barely audible, some of her first words since her mother’s death.

                Sei wasn’t sure whether he’d heard her correctly. He felt that the clicks and shuffling he was hearing confused him about what she’d actually said. “What?”

                “Hey! Don’t stay so far behind!” Hiro called out.

                Waving a hand above his head and not even bothering to turn, Sei responded, “We’ll be right there!” He then got a little closer to Gou and, in the most soothing voice he could muster, asked, “What’s wrong?”

                “I’m not going,” she quipped, louder this time.

                Mikoshiba only sighed, knowing that Gou had every right to still be upset. “Gou-kun we have to keep going. It’s no use staying behind, you couldn’t have done anything-“

                “Couldn’t have done anything!” Gou shrieked, turning to face Seijuro full on now, “That’s where you’re wrong!” She took a step back and put her arms around herself, “Maybe if I’d been there, maybe if I hadn’t left yesterday, I-I could’ve stopped it, I could have _helped_ her-“ she trailed off with a strangled sob.

                “What’s going on?” Rin shouted, hearing his sister’s shrieks from down the road. He turned around slightly to see what she was yelling about.

                Sei ignored Rin and tried once again to comfort Gou somehow, but she just kept moving back, “Gou-kun, we have to go. We can’t stay here and we certainly can’t just leave you here.”

                “No!” she screamed. “She’s _dead_ and it’s all my fault!” She clamped her hands over her ears as if she were trying to block out the ever increasing clicks that were coming from the birds in the woods. “I’m not going, I’m not going, I’m not _going!_ ”

                “Gou-kun, we have to,” Seijuro begged, “let’s go.”

                “I’ll only get someone else hurt,” she whimpered, “no! I’m not going!”

                “Hey, what happened?” Rin asked, slowly making his way back to the two. He stopped in his tracks. “Gou, Captain, get over here.”

                Mikoshiba turned to Rin as he began to answer, slight annoyance in his voice, “We’ll be right-“ Rin’s facial expression made the words die in his mouth. He wasn’t looking at Gou or at him – he was staring at something behind them.

                He felt ice cold dread begin to crawl up his spine but made sure he didn’t give anything away and kept his eyes on Gou. “Gou-kun, come here with me,” Mikoshiba breathed, keeping his tone as monotonous and as flat as he possibly could.

                Gou, sensing the sudden change in Seijuro slowly removed her hands from her ears and opened her eyes, looking at him. She whispered, “But I’ll only get someone hurt.”

                “Don’t be silly,” Mikoshiba answered tonelessly, “Let’s talk about this while we walk.”

                “Mikoshiba…what’s wrong? Why are you talking like that?” Gou asked, her crippling sadness and self-loathing slowly getting replaced by a growing bubble of fear.

                Seijuro made the mistake of quickly flitting his eyes over Gou’s shoulder before he turned a barely reigned in terrified expression to Gou. “What are you talking about? We should get going.”

                She turned to see what he had looked at and barely made out the zombie shuffling towards them when she felt a strong hand grip her forearm and yank her backwards. Seijuro pushed her behind him and pulled out a baseball bat.

                Rin had begun to run to them, also pulling out a bat of his own, but pulled up short. He cocked his head to the side and blanched from what he heard. The clicks were coming from all around – and they weren’t being made by birds.

                “Seijuro! Gou! RUN! We’re surrounded!”

                Sei glanced around and saw that more zombies were clambering out of the woods, clicking excitedly. Cursing, he stuffed his bat into his bag and turned to run back to the group, tossing Gou and her bag over his shoulder easily before sprinting towards them.

                The group ahead was completely unaware of the danger that had crept up on them so when Rin began to shout at them to run no one really gave it much mind.

                “Senpai is probably just feeling a little competitive,” Nitori smiled, glad that Rin was feeling well enough to want to race.

                Haru blew air out of his nose, and turned around calling out, “Why is it that even on land you’re still trying to race?” He saw that Sei was carrying Gou and running behind Rin, but not until he actually focused on Rin as he sprinted towards them did he realize something was _actually_ wrong.

                He gripped Makoto’s arm and stopped, his other hand hovering over the handle of his ax. Makoto looked down at him worriedly and began questioningly, “Haru…?”

                All Haru had to do was look at Makoto, turning blue eyes to meet green. Blue eyes that had always hid everything from everyone except from his best friend. And Makoto could clearly read the growing fear that Haru was trying his hardest to hide.

                Makoto was just forming the warning cries that would alert the group when a zombie tore through the brush and lunged at Hiro.

                She shrieked and stumbled backwards, bumping into her sister and almost knocking her down. The zombie had lunged again, this time aiming for direct contact but was struck to the side with a bone jarring blow to the head from Keiichi. It crumpled to the ground with a bashed in skull. 

                “What the he-“ Goro began when suddenly another zombie crashed through the trees.

                Miho quickly severed its spinal cord with her ax and shouted, “RUN!”

               Everyone began to run down the road as fast as they could, only looking back to see if anyone had fallen behind. Zombies kept lunging out from the trees, forcing the group to have to fight them off.

                 Seijuro, Gou, and Rin were having the hardest time dealing with the zombies since they were a little ways back. Nitori had brought out his throwing knives and Makoto and Haru had pulled out their baseball bats and seemed to be about to charge in and help the three, but Goro ran past them yelling out, “Keep running! I’ll get them!”

                The boys still seemed to want to help but knew better than to go against Goro. They trusted him and knew he’d get the three back to the group. Everyone continued rushing forward, killing zombies as they lunged. They knew they were close to Toba; they were _so damn close_ , if only they could get there they could lose the zombies amongst the buildings.

               They rounded a curve down the road and could feel any hope of arriving to Toba disappear. There was a fenced in area on the side of the road that was basically _spewing_ zombies. There were so many of them, it wasn’t a surprise that the chain-link fence had been torn down by the things. They began sniffing the air and when they caught scent of the group they growled and started to shuffle to where they stood, the group steeling themselves for what they knew would be an inevitable battle.

                 Zombies began to swarm in from the left, effectively blocking the road – about 20 of them in total. Nagisa could feel his throat closing up and the tears stinging his eyes. Rei quickly looked around and whispered, “The tracks.”

                   Nagisa looked up at him and asked, “What?”

                  “The tracks,” Rei repeated. He grabbed Nagisa by the shoulders and pushed him towards the small metal railing that rimmed the right side of the road. “Up to the train tracks! It’s our only chance!” Rei shouted, pushing Izumi and Hiro after Nagisa. They jumped over the rails and began to scrabble up the small slope to the train tracks. Haru and Makoto were reluctant to follow since the others were still far behind. Rei called out to them, “Go! I’ll go back!”

                  He was about to run back the way they’d come when his older brother stopped him with an outstretched baseball bat. Rei glanced over at him and was about to just run right ahead but Keiichi said, “Hurry up and go. I’ll be right there with the rest.”

                   “You can’t go on your own,” Rei countered.

                  “He won’t be going alone,” Miho replied walking over to the two and looking at Rei straight in the eyes, “so go.”

                With one last sweeping glance at the both of them he ran after the others who were now standing amongst the small shrubs and trees that lined the train tracks. Keiichi turned to Miho. They were about to run back when the others came running around the bend. Goro was the furthest behind, obviously having been watching the teens’ backs. Keiichi and Miho turned back to the zombies blocking the road and began swinging their bats to keep them at bay.

                   Out of the corner of his eye, Keiichi saw Rin and Sei (who was still carrying Gou) sprint past them and begin to climb up the slope. He yelled at Miho, “There’s only the Coach left!”

                  They turned and saw Goro running as fast as he could, arms pumping furiously at his sides. Keiichi ran to the railing and hopped over, Miho hot on his heels. She turned back to see how far behind Goro was when a zombie lunged out of the trees and slammed into him.

                     Goro landed hard on his side, his vision going fuzzy around the edges. It barely registered in his brain that Miho was screaming his name. It was difficult to focus on her person when his head was swimming and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He could see her hopping back over the railing when he felt the hot mouth clamp down on his shoulder.

                    He struggled to get to his ax and slammed the butt of it against the zombie’s nose, slamming so hard that he basically stabbed it through the skull. Goro threw the motionless body off of him and staggered to his feet. Miho was still screaming at him, running towards him.

                    “Miho! It’s okay,” he shouted hoarsely, “I’ll be right there!”

                     Her screams finally pierced through his foggy brain as he felt something grab onto the back of his t-shirt.

                    “Behind you! GORO! BEHIND YOU!”

                    He lifted his ax and turned around, prepared to swing when a bloody hand tore out through his back.

                   “GORO!” Miho screamed. Goro looked over at her wide-eyed, blood already dribbling out of his mouth.

                 The zombie pulled its hand out of his stomach with a handful of Goro’s intestines. Goro’s knees buckled and he could feel his breaths coming shallower and his life spilling out before him. There was a burning sensation in his stomach and he could already feel another mouth tear at his throat as he began to convulse on the ground.

_I’m so sorry._

                 He could see Miho swinging her ax at other oncoming zombies and made out someone else running towards them. _Please, be safe, at least let them get away._ “Mi…ho…” he weakly gasped. Miho shouted at him to hold on, to stay. His vision began to darken and get blurry, so he made sure the last thing he saw was Miho.

_Miho, I’m going to owe you that coffee._

                   Everything went dark.

* * *

 

                Miho swung blindly at the zombies, her tears making it hard to see. _He’ll be okay, he’s fine, he’s strong, HE’LL BE OKAY,_ she desperately thought.

                She swung her ax down hard on the zombie who was gorging itself on Goro’s intestines and the sound of bones cracking was unmistakable. She turned back to the other zombie and was about to do the same when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and began dragging her back towards the train tracks.

                “No – what are you doing! We have to go back! We have to help him!” she shrieked, fighting against Keiichi to get back to Goro.

                He just kept trudging on, trying for both of their sakes to be fast and to get away from the oncoming horde as fast as possible.

                “Stop! –Ngh – STOP!” Miho screamed shrilly. “We have to go back!” she began to sob, the fight going out of her.

                  Keiichi loosened his grip slightly on her to be able to actually carry her but that was what she’d been waiting for. She broke away from him and began to sprint towards Goro’s body. Keiichi ran after her and tried to grab her again but practically tackled her to the ground, making them perfect prey for the zombies.

                The ones nearest Goro’s body staggered over to them with outstretched arms. Keiichi took one out with his hockey stick but left his back wide open to the zombies behind them. One of them grabbed onto his arm but Miho quickly killed it with her ax, but not before it left deep gouge marks on Keiichi’s arm. Keiichi tried to staunch the blood with his other hand and left Miho’s side completely unprotected.

                A zombie got close enough to grab Miho’s wrist but Miho quickly severed the arm and yanked the hand off her wrist. She stood with her back to Keiichi’s, holding her ax above her head, but it was no use. The zombies were closing in.

                There was a sudden burst of gunfire from the trees and about half of the zombies crumpled to the ground. Dark figures flew out of the trees. One touched down briefly beside Keiichi before picking him up and taking off again. Miho didn’t even have a chance to shout out his name when another figure came down and picked her up, flying off and landing on the train tracks.

                Miho swayed where she stood, trying to regain her footing but ultimately decided to just sit down since her head was still spinning and she could barely see through her tears. She looked down at the zombies and saw a handful of people walking out of the woods, shooting their guns and killing the zombies on the road. Miho turned towards the two figures who’d gone in and pulled Keiichi and herself away from the horde.

                “Damn, we’re out,” the tall, dark skinned girl who’d pulled out Keichi muttered. She detached a small tank from a contraption hanging off her belt before going to the other one and removing it as well. She threw them on the ground and kicked them away.

                The cloaked figure beside Miho looked at his own before mumbling, “You’re right,” and following her lead and removing his own tanks.

                Miho and Keichi glanced around and could see the rest of the group standing farther down the train tracks, watching the newcomers.

                Once the last zombie was killed a teenager with two toned hair called out, “Hey! You finally out of gas?”

                “Don’t say it like you’re trying to pick a fight,” the freckled boy beside him chastised, elbowing him.

                The person who’d pulled Miho out of the zombie horde shouted back, “Yeah! I guess we’re all on foot now!”

                Those down on the road began making their way to the Iwatobi group, joking and messing around with each other. Miho ignored the group and looked down amongst the bodies strewn on the road. She could see Goro’s bright blue hoodie, now bloodstained crimson.

                “Um, thanks for saving us and all, but…who are you guys?”

                Miho wretched her eyes from Goro’s body and turned to see what the answer to Keiichi’s question would be. He had turned to the girl who’d saved him, but she in turn looked at her comrade.

                He pulled down his hood and turned teal eyes to Keiichi. His brown hair was slightly ruffled and his eyebrows were furrowed giving his tan complexion an annoyed expression. He gave one last look at the road before he turned back to Keiichi and answered:

                “We’re the 104th Trainee Squad.” He looked over at Miho and outstretched his hand to her. She took it and he helped her to her feet. “I’m Eren Jaeger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I ship Goro/Miho?? Well if you couldn't, I do. Sorry about the character death, language, and probably really shitty fight scenes. Also apologizes for the stereotypical drop-the-keys scene. I just couldn't think of another way to get the group on foot.
> 
> Anyways, see you next month!
> 
> Oh, and yeah, I'm thinking about making this part of a series, with a companion piece that's SNK Zombie Apocalypse AU? How does the idea sound?


	4. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets some crucial training from the 104th - culinary and military. Friendships are forged and dead are mourned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is a little fluffy to soften the blow of Goro's passing.   
> Hope you like it.

                Makoto glanced around the lobby of the college that the 104th had adopted as their temporary refuge. He picked at the hem of his t-shirt nervously; he felt like the boy standing in front of him was severely scrutinizing his group.

                Haru lightly nudged Makoto with his shoulder. He peeked down at him and saw Haru give him a fleeting look, a reassuring one. _Don’t worry_.

                He nudged Haru back subtly. _Okay._

                “Iwatobi, huh?” Eren asked, startling Makoto slightly.

                “Yeah, that’s where we came from,” he answered, “We were just stopping for the night at Ise, but then the city got overrun.”

                “They probably came from the Ise hospital,” mused a blonde boy who’d just walked in from the back rooms of the college.

                “Armin!” Eren smiled, his expression completely changing from the scowl he’d been wearing, “How’s Daz?”

                “Still really shaken up, but Marco’s trying to calm him down now,” Armin replied. He approached the group and politely said, “Hello.” He came to stand beside Eren and pulled off his green cloak, “I really hope you haven’t given them a hard time.”

                “I haven’t,” Eren confirmed, allowing Armin to pull his shirt collar down a bit to reveal a bandage.

                Armin gingerly tugged the bandage from the crook of Eren’s neck to uncover a nasty injury. “Well then why do they look so upset and exhausted? Oh good, you haven’t pulled at your stitches.”

                “Oh, I don’t know,” Eren began sarcastically as Armin once again covered the laceration, “maybe it’s the damn apocalypse that has them like this.” He whispered something inaudible to Armin, who then looked over at the group with a tiny gasp.

                “I’ll check the other two later,” Armin finished in a low tone. Fixing Eren’s shirt collar back in place Armin turned to the group and smiled, “I’m glad you’re all safe.” He came to stand before Makoto who towered over him and outstretched his hand, “As you might have heard Eren call me earlier, I’m Armin.”

                “Makoto,” Makoto responded, feeling a little more at ease with Armin around. He seemed to bring out Eren’s gentler side, something that Makoto had not seen during their trek from where the 104th had found them to the Toba National College of Maritime Technology.

                Once everyone else had introduced themselves, Armin turned to Keiichi whom had his sweatshirt wrapped around his arm to cover his wound, “You hurt?”

                “Ah, this?” Keiichi lifted up his arm, “It’s nothing, really.”

                “I can bandage it for you if you’d like,” Armin offered.

                “That’d be great actually.” Keiichi began to follow Armin as he walked down the hall.

                “Miss…Miho? Right?” Armin inquired glancing back at the group.

                “Y-yes?” Miho stuttered out, coming back from her thoughts.

                “You’re hurt, too. Come with us so that I can clean that for you,” Armin gently suggested.

                Miho looked down at her wrist and saw the puffy red marks, cuts from when she’d yanked the zombie’s hand from her arm. “Oh, you’re right,” she murmured, still seeming a little subdued after having cried the whole way to the college.

                Everyone was still in shock and upset over Goro. More so Miho, since they’d grown very close during the few hours they’d been together trying to keep the group in shape.

                “I’m sorry if I’m being informal with you - you know with having just met you and all,” Armin apologized. “But with everything that’s going on, we really don’t have time for formalities…and Eren?” Armin’s voice called from farther down the hall. Eren hummed that Armin should continue. “They’re probably exhausted if they’ve been up since around four in the morning. Could you maybe show them to the rooms and let them rest, please?” Eren hummed again in understanding and Armin finally disappeared with Keiichi and Miho.

                They all quietly remained where they were until Eren broke the silence. “Armin’s right: you’ve been through a lot. C’mon, I’ll take you to where we’ve been sleeping.” He briskly walked down another hallway with the rest of the group in tow and took them up a flight of stairs where they then came upon another hallway, this one lined with doors along both sides. “These used to be the offices,” Eren said, “Some of them have some people sleeping in them and others are empty. You can stay wherever you want. I’ll get Miho and Keiichi back to you guys when Armin’s done checking on them.” He then walked back from where he came from without even giving them a second glance.

                “Well, they seem…nice,” Hiro quietly murmured.

                “Not the gentlest, but nice,” Izumi agreed, picking up her bag and walking into the first unused room she found, followed quickly by her sister.

                The others, a tad bit more uneasily, looked for empty rooms to settle down in, not necessarily to sleep but to rest and more than anything to mourn Coach Sasabe. After finding the biggest room on the floor, they settled inside and held a respectful vigil for Goro.

                “He was a great coach,” Nagisa croaked, eyes still red and puffy.

                There was the customary round of agreement. Rei put his arm around Nagisa and gently patted his shoulder.

                Makoto smiled slightly, “I remember when I ran into him last year, when I went to check out the swim club before they demolished it…yeah, seeing him again sure brought back memories.”

                Haru nodded, tightly fisting his hands in his sweatshirt.

                “He used to always push me to do my best when I was a kid,” Rin grinned, shaking his head before looking up and blinking back tears. Gou reached over and held his hand tight, not trusting her own voice to say anything but feeling like she had to demonstrate her appreciation and love for the coach somehow.

                They then relapsed into silence, some falling asleep and others occasionally sharing a story about Coach Sasabe that brought them a brief moment of happiness.

* * *

 

                 “I hear we’ve got new friends!” a cry rang as the door was thrust open.

                 The two who weren’t asleep turned to see an excited looking girl in a pony-tail eating a baked potato standing in the doorway.

                “Sasha, you can’t just bust in like that,” a slightly shorter boy with a shaved head sighed, appearing at her side.

                She waved him aside and instead focused on the group. “You guys hungry?” she asked between mouthfuls of potato.

                Rei glanced over at Rin, the only other one who wasn’t asleep. Rin stood up from in between Gou and Nitori and dusted himself off. “Do you know what time it is?”

               “It’s about eight in the morning,” the boy answered.

                So is that a no? – Yes, maybe?” Sasha asked, slightly crestfallen.

               “I don’t know about speedo glasses over there but I sure could use some food,” Rin replied, stretching his sore muscles.

              Rei got up too, gently picking up Nagisa’s head from his lap and bundling up his sweater to cushion his head as he settled Nagisa back down again. “If you would be willing to feed us we’d be very thankful,” Rei responded gratefully before turning to Rin, “and Rin-san, you know that I no longer wear a speedo.”

             “Yeah, yeah, whatever. And drop the –san, Ryugazaki, you heard what that boy - Armin – said. There’s no time for formalities,” Rin yawned, making his way to the door.

             “Yay!” Sasha cheered, “Now Annie won’t be able to keep me from the kitchens!” She happily marched down the stairs, fists pumping in the air.

              Rin and Rei both followed her along with the other boy, who began polite conversation to get to know who the new additions to the group were.

             “You’ve met Armin?”

             “Yes, as well as Eren and the rest of the group who came and got us this morning,” Rei answered, pushing up his glasses.

             “Ah…been harsh for you guys too?” the boy inquired.

             Rin bit his lower lip as he remembered the events of the past 24 hours. His mom, turned and killed. Goro dead. He didn’t really want to think about anything else that could go wrong.

            “We’ve lost a few people,” Rin shakily commented, in as monotone a voice as he could.

            “Oh…yeah, we’ve lost some people, too…a couple of us trainees, a few family members of the squad…” he took a deep breath, “yeah, it’s been rough.”

            Feeling as if the conversation was taking a dark and upsetting turn, Rei asked after a few silent seconds, “What is this squad anyway – the 104th?”

            The ghost of a smile danced across the boy’s features. “The 104th…well, we’re all a part of this institution in Shima. It’s called the Military Accelerated Regiment Institutional Academy. I know, I know, it’s a mouthful but we just call it MARIA for short.” They’d gone down the flight of stairs and began descending one level lower. “We all joined a while ago – three years, I think. MARIA is a school for teenagers who early on choose to be in the military. You can drop out whenever you want, just in case you change your mind, but it’s a really good program. It’s basically like going to a boarding school but with rigorous military training added.” They’d come upon a set of double doors – the kitchen – when the boy abruptly stopped. “I’m going to have to warn you though. Sasha…when it comes to food – ah, well she can get a bit excited.”

          He pushed the doors open to reveal Sasha in a very heated argument with one of the teenagers who’d been with Eren that morning. She was wielding a menacing rolling pin and he had armed himself with a soup ladle.

         “Oh, Connie! Please keep your girlfriend away from the food. Annie put me in charge of making it since this one over here eats everything she sees,” the teenager began, spotting the boy – Connie - who’d taken Rin and Rei to the kitchens.

         “Jean! Connie’s not my boyfriend!” she shouted, “and the people you brought in this morning are _hungry_! Since you haven’t fed them I was going through all the trouble to get them something good to eat!”

        “Uh-huh, and that’s all coming outta the kindness of your heart, isn’t it Tatter-Tot?” Jean sneered.

        Connie sighed dramatically, as if their arguments were something that always went on, “Even though Sasha probably will eat a lot of whatever she makes – “

       “Hey!” Sasha huffed, cheeks puffing out slightly.

       “ – she actually is making food for these guys.”

       Jean finally noticed the other boys that were accompanying Connie as he glanced over Connie’s shoulder. “I can make food for them just the same,” Jean countered, not really wanting to let Sasha win.

        “Dude, just let her help you,” Rin interrupted, really not wanting any problems to happen on behalf of them. Jean stiffened slightly at seeing that the new guys seemed to be backing Sasha.

        “Yeah, Jean!” Sasha whined, “Plus, I’m the one who offered…”

        “Rin.”

        “Rei.”

        “Rin and Rei food!” she finished.

         Rin and Rei really had no idea what to do other than watch as sparks basically flew between Sasha and Jean over who was going to do the cooking. Connie watched everything with an emotion akin to fondness in his eyes, pushing out the defeated look from them.

         “Is Jean down there?” a voice called out from up the stairwell, somewhat softening the tensions in the room.

         “Marco? Yes, he’s down here!” Sasha shouted. A freckled teenager (also having accompanied the rescue group) suddenly appeared beside Rin and Rei. “Please, Marco, get your boyfriend under control!”

         Jean almost popped with how angry he got. “Marco’s not my –“

         “Excuse me…” Marco mumbled, quickly walking into the room and standing between Sasha and Jean, who’d begun to threateningly raise his ladle. “Why are both of you arguing?”

         Jean only got to open his mouth before Sasha had gripped Marco’s arm and began babbling about how she’d offered Rin and Rei food and was even going as far as to _make it for them_ but that Jean was interfering with her act of kindness.

         “Is that true?” Marco asked Jean after Sasha had finished.

         “I guess I could use some help with the cooking,” Jean begrudgingly admitted, totally avoiding Marco’s question and turning back to the soup he’d been making.

         “Woooooo-hoooo!” Sasha exclaimed, quickly running into the kitchen and amassing a giant amount of food at her station which she then began to arrange, chop, and season according to what she was going to make.

        “Are they always like…” Rin feebly began, already feeling exhausted after seeing how much energy this bunch was capable of having.

       “Yeah, pretty much,” Connie admitted.

       Marco joined them and greeted Rei and Rin. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier…we saw you guys probably needed some time to yourselves and decided to not bother you. I’m Marco Bodt.”

       “I’m Rei Ryugazaki,” Rei replied, “and this is Rin Matsuoka.”

       “It’s great to have you here,” Marco smiled, as if he were welcoming them to some beautiful vacation retreat and not to their ragtag survival squad. “I was just coming down to help Jean make some breakfast for us. Connie, you can take them back upstairs with their friends until the food’s ready.”

        “Don’t worry, we’ll assist you,” Rei started, going over to the sink to wash his hands.

        “Yeah, dude, it’s no big deal,” Rin continued, following Rei’s lead and washing his hands before standing off to the side to receive further instruction.

        Connie shrugged and washed his hands as well, going over to Sasha’s station to help her make whatever feast she had in mind.

         “Okay then,” Marco smiled, happy that the group they’d found seemed be made up of really nice people. “Rin, you can work with me if that doesn’t bother you, and Rei, if you and Jean don’t mind, you can work together,” Marco said as he dried his own hands after washing them. Marco had noticed Rin’s tough and strong personality that would probably come off as rude with Jean and would just cause an issue, so he made sure he did not set them up as partners.

        Rei quickly walked over to Jean and began to intently focus and do as he said, even though Jean himself seemed a little preoccupied and unfocused with what he was doing.

        Marco and Rin cut up some fruit since it was still relatively fresh and would probably go bad if no one took the time to prepare it for consumption and began making a fruit salad.

        The six of them remained in the kitchen until about an hour or so later, when they’d finished preparing what seemed like a feast fit for kings instead of for their group of survivors and then they called everyone into the mess hall to eat.

* * *

 

        “Rei-chan, I got worried when I woke up and you weren’t there,” Nagisa mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Rei walked alongside him down the stairs, a little behind the rest of the group since Nagisa was a little groggy due to sleepiness.

        “Nagisa-kun, I was only down at the kitchens making us breakfast,” Rei responded, seeing that Nagisa had been genuinely worried when Rei disappeared.

        Nagisa sniveled a little, “I thought you’d left.”

        That pulled Rei up short. “Oh, Nagisa…I wouldn’t leave you guys. You’re the only people I’d want have with me right now,” he reassured, stopping Nagisa and putting a hand on his shoulder.

        “Really?” Nagisa asked, big magenta eyes finally on Rei.

       “Of course,” Rei continued, making sure that Nagisa was still looking at him, “I would never abandon you.”

        “Rei-chan!” Nagisa cried, throwing himself into Rei’s arms. “I’m sorry I thought you left!”

        “Uh, Nagisa-kun, it’s okay,” Rei commented, slowly patting Nagisa on the back. “How about we go get some breakfast?” he tried, hoping that Nagisa would brighten up a little.

        “Okay!” Nagisa beamed, pulling away from Rei and bounding down the last few steps, all signs of his grogginess disappearing.

        Rei smiled slightly, glad that Nagisa seemed a little closer to his old self. _So that’s what had him upset…aside from everything else that’s happened._

        He caught up to Nagisa just as he was walking into the mess hall, or what they’d converted into the mess hall – one of the biggest classrooms at the very back of the college. The foods he’d helped prepare a while ago were all strewn across a big table in the back, like that at a buffet at a corporate party. People were coming along with their plates and getting food, then retiring to other tables around the room to eat. It seemed like such an organized affair, it felt kind of strange to think that a handful of teenagers had put it together for their survivor group.

        Rin and the rest of the group were already gathered at the end of the buffet table, hungry and eager to eat. Nagisa bounced over to them with Rei close behind, and they just managed to catch Nitori exclaim in awe, “Wow Rin-senpai, you really did an amazing job!”

         “How’d you even make all this food?” Seijuro asked, slapping some pancakes onto his plate.

         Rin grabbed some strips of bacon. “That Sasha girl,” he nodded over at her table where she seemed to be entertaining Connie, Marco, Jean, and some other people by seemingly engaging in an eating contest with a burly blonde guy, “cooks like crazy. It’s insane, she can make almost anything she wants even _if_ it seems like she doesn’t even have the ingredients.”

         Haru smiled slightly as he saw pineapple drizzled mackerel further along the table.

         “I wasn’t going to forget our little dolphin only eats mackerel,” Rin teased, throwing Haru a smile.

         “Seems fresh,” Haru mused, plopping a fish onto his plate, “did you go out to the ocean and catch this yourself, Jaws?”

         “That’s the last time I make sure to do something nice for you,” Rin mumbled, trying to sound upset but just ending up smiling after seeing his friends seem _happy_.

         They all sat down at two adjoining tables in the far left corner, trying to keep to themselves and not cause any issues within the 104th. Rin already had the sinking suspicion that Jean didn’t like him, what with the dirty look Jean gave him as he grinned over at their table when he’d walked by.

         “Are Keiichi and Miss Amakata back yet?” Gou wondered aloud, looking around the crowded “cafeteria” as she took a seat beside her brother.

          Makoto glanced around too. “I don’t think so,” he answered, picking up a piece of French toast and taking a bite.

         Nagisa immediately shoveled a spoonful of strawberry shortcake into his mouth before giving a satisfied, “Mmm…” He took another two or three bites before turning to Rei and exclaiming, “You made this cake, didn’t you Rei-chan!”

         Rei smirked and adjusted his glasses, “Ah, Nagisa-kun, you have recognized my excellent culinary prose in that cake you’re eating!” Rei laughed and lifted up his spoon in a victorious gesture, “It’s a great thing that I’ve read multiple cooking and baking volumes…”

         Nitori leaned over to Nagisa and whispered, not wanting to disrupt Rei’s spiel, “Is it that good? Is that how you realized Rei-san made it?”

        “No, it’s just that it’s not as sweet as I like it,” Nagisa answered, wolfing down yet another spoonful of cake.

        “Wha-!” Rei spluttered, dropping his arm and slumping in his seat, slowly turning over his food with his spoon.

        “But I still love his cakes,” Nagisa continued, not having noticed how his previous comment had shattered Rei, who, upon hearing Nagisa’s latest words, sat up straighter and with a triumphant air once again.

        “I only do it to keep you healthy, Nagisa-kun.”

        “It’s okay, Rei-chan! I know that, and that makes these cakes more special than anything sweet!” Nagisa finished, turning a frosting coated smile to Rei.

        Rei immediately took his napkin and began cleaning up the teen’s face, muttering things like “Nagisa-kun, how did you even get so much frosting on your face,” and “You need to learn how to eat with better manners.”

        At that moment Keiichi and Miho appeared, both with plates stacked high with food and bandages on their arms. They took seats between Hiro and Seijuro.

        “Yo,” Keiichi greeted, shoving a sausage into his mouth.

        “I hear you and Rin-kun helped make breakfast,” Miho said, addressing both Rei and Rin, “I’m proud you’re lending a helping hand to our generous hosts.”

        No one really wanted to address the sudden chirpy and happy rebound that Miho had back to her old self. If anything, they were just kind of glad that the person who seemed to have been the most beat up over Coach Sasabe’s death was trying to keep moving on and fighting.

        Izumi broke the silence by giving a compliment to the chefs. “These scrambled eggs are really, really good.”

        “Or maybe they seem good after all the crazy stuff that’s happened,” Hiro added, munching on some fruit salad.

        Nitori turned over his bacon and eggs a little forlornly.

        Rin nudged him slightly with a quiet, “What’s up?”

        “It’s funny,” Nitori began, voice a little thick, “how we were just eating this yesterday morning, at Haruka-senpai’s house.”

         The table grew a little silent as the implications of Nitori’s comment sank in. Just yesterday morning, life was still normal. Just yesterday morning, they received the news that shattered their world as they’d known it.

         Rin threw an arm around his shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we’ll be doing that again before you know it, Ai,” Rin smiled, squeezing the smaller boy slightly in an attempt to cheer him up.

         There was a loud bang from the front door, drawing everyone’s attention to Eren and Armin who’d just walked in, and who’d smacked the door to get everyone to look at them.

         “I know I probably shouldn’t tell you all this at breakfast, and I know we’ve only been here about a day,” Eren began, “but I think we should get moving tomorrow.”

         There was a loud groan from the collected group, and a loud “Why should we listen to you?” from Jean.

          Armin then spoke up. “The longer we stay, the more dangerous it becomes. All we’ve got is the supplies from the stores we raided. Once that’s gone, we have nothing else. No other shipments are coming in. Nothing. We’ll be left to starve. The sooner we leave, the more supplies we’ll have. Today will be a rest day; we’ll head out to ROSE, over at Tsu, tomorrow.” He turned to the Iwatobi group, “You can come with us to ROSE, you’ll all be safe.”

          “After you get to Tsu, where will you be going?” Rin called out.

          “Tokyo,” Eren answered.

          “Most likely,” Armin added.

          “Will it be an overland trip?” Makoto asked after having glanced over at Haru.

          Armin mulled over the question for a few seconds before responding with a curt, “Yes.”

          The Iwatobi group turned and silently conferred with one another. They’d already decided that they’d cross the Ise Bay by island hopping and finding a ferry they could use. However, it did seem like a safer idea to stay with a bigger group. Downside to that was the fact that their route would probably take longer than the one the Iwatobi group had chosen.

           Rei stood up from their table and said, “Eren, Armin, please give us some time to think about this.”

           Seijuro joined in by giving them a deadline, “We’ll have told you by sundown.”

          “Okay,” Eren allowed before inquiring after a few seconds, “What weapons do you have?”

          “Only a few things that you’d find at a sporting store,” Rei answered.

         Eren nodded, as if he’d expected the answer. “After you eat, you should go to the shaded courtyard. We’ll teach you how to shoot.”

         “How to shoot what exactly?” Izumi quietly asked her sister.

         “Guns,” Armin simply added, walking over to take a seat beside a girl with a red scarf who seemed to have stacked two plates for Armin and Eren with food.

* * *

 

                          Despite the shining sun the wind still blew fiercely through the courtyard causing those who were congregated there to huddle closer to one another for warmth.

                          Eren, Armin, and the girl in the red scarf stood out as lone figures before the group, shotguns at both Eren and the girl’s sides.

                          “Whether you choose to come with us or not, learning to shoot a gun is essential in such dangerous circumstances.” The girl shot a coke can off a courtyard wall to emphasize Armin’s next words, “Precision and accuracy will be what can determine life or death for you. Just waving the gun around won’t do anything. Hitting your target on the first shot not only eliminates the danger, it saves ammunition.”

                          Eren absentmindedly picked at his right arm as he addressed the group, “We’ll teach you the basics, okay? Just pay attention to what we say.” He pointed at a door behind him. “Guns are over there. They’re loaded, so keep the nozzle pointed away from everyone. Hopefully by the end of the day all of you will be able to shoot something.”

                          Miraculously, it didn’t even take very long before the Iwatobi group was hitting targets.

                          Nitori was the first. Within an hour, he was able to shoot a target that was about 7 yards away. When he’d first shot the red “X” made out of adhesive tape on a piece of plywood mounted along the college’s fence, he’d smiled, feeling actually good at something.

                          “Hey, great shot,” Rin had grinned, shooting Ai’s good spirits up like a rocket.

                          Then, to everyone’s dismay, Miho had hit her target. With her injured wrist, she didn’t feel like she’d be able to hold a shotgun, so she’d gotten a handgun instead. She held it in her left hand (it was a good thing her injured hand was the right one) and after a few attempts of trial and error shot the center of her “X”.

                          Izumi and Hiro both followed suit and flawlessly shot their targets about 20 minutes after Miho’s success, and were so proud and excited about their shooting that they began to slowly widen the gap between themselves and their target until they were an extra three yards from their original point.

                          Nagisa hadn’t gotten a shotgun and had opted for a handgun like the one Miho had. He held it in his left hand, but, instead of holding it upright vertically, he held it horizontally with the rear sight facing the right. It seemed akin to the way most thugs and criminals would hold their guns in movies or on TV. He only managed to shoot a couple of times before the girl in the red scarf – Mikasa was her name – came over and silently fixed his gun into the correct upright position. It only took a few more minutes before he slipped back into his original position. Mikasa once again came back and adjusted his gun, but this time she remained at his side until she was sure he was going to continue to hold it properly. It was during that time that Nagisa hit his target. He laughed and smiled, turning to catch Mikasa giving him a light smile too before she went back over with Eren and Armin and helped out some of the others.

                          Haru quietly shot his target next, his expression ever the same stoic image, which was the complete opposite of Makoto. Makoto kept jumping every time the shotgun kicked in his hands but was nevertheless able to hit the target after a while. Haru and Makoto then went to the shed and brought out other makes and models and practiced with those for a while, despite Makoto’s original protests.

                          Seijuro wasn’t a bad shot either, quickly finding his rhythm after the initial string of misses and then never missing a shot.

                          Keiichi just could not shoot his gun. No matter how much he tried, the wound in his arm just made it too difficult, especially since it had affected his dominant arm. So he just opted to sit out the training and cheer everyone on from the sidelines along with Gou, who wasn’t feeling well enough to train with the others.

                          Rei, on the other hand, was too busy calculating distance, wind resistance, and angle to even shoot anything during the first hours. He watched his friends shoot a bit, and even went as far as to ask one of the 104th who’d been watching the training – a blonde girl named Annie – to shoot a couple of example shots for him. She’d given him a raised eyebrow but had humored him nonetheless. Afterwards he’d pushed up his glasses and gave a victorious laugh, obviously prepared to outshine all of his friends in a perfectly beautiful shooting demonstration. He took a shooters stance, aimed, and fired, completely missing his mark and hitting a light post on the street. He’d seemed completely downtrodden and defeated…that is, until a certain tan, 6 foot 3 and a half inch tall boy came and gave him some pointers that had him hitting the center of the target in no time.

                          The only person who just seemed absolutely hopeless with the gun was Rin.

                          It seemed as if he could not shoot his target to save his life. At first he’d just thought it was because he’d never shot a gun before. But now, seeing everyone else having shot the target multiple times over, he felt like a complete failure.

                          “Agh!” he groaned, after missing the target for what seemed like the hundredth time. He’d been out there for hours, and with nothing to show for his efforts. He gave frustrated kick to a clump of gravel by his foot.

                          “Need some help?” a familiar voice asked. He’d only just met the voice’s owner that morning but after having heard him give him cooking instructions for about an hour he knew it was Marco.

                          He turned to Marco, not really wanting to meet his eyes as he muttered a quiet, “Yes.”

                          “Okay,” Marco smiled, turning Rin to face his target once again and standing directly behind him. He moved Rin a little until he was standing partially sideways, then put his left arm on Rin’s left arm and his right arm on Rin’s right arm. Rin tensed up slightly but didn’t really protest. He felt like a child being taught by an adult, even though Marco was his same height and younger than him. However, he knew that learning to shoot a gun was _very_ important. “Just relax,” Marco mumbled, “tensing up won’t help.” Once he felt Rin loosen up a little he continued. “Now just aim and approximate – remember, bullets are really fast, so don’t point your nozzle anywhere over a hairsbreadth from your target at a distance like this.” Rin did as he was told, only letting Marco guide him slightly. “Now just shoot, and wait for the kick.”

                          Rin pulled the trigger. There was a slight pop, what sounded like splintering wood, and a small hole appeared on the lower right “leg” of the red “X”. Rin slowly lowered his gun, a huge grin spreading across his face. “I shot it!”

                          Marco beamed, taking a step back from Rin. “See! All it takes is a little practice.”

                          Feeling a little self-conscious about his next request, Rin lowered his voice slightly before asking, “Marco, do you think you could show me one last time?”

                          “Of course,” Marco complied, once again falling in behind Rin and repeating the procedure, but this time with the bullet hole appearing closer to the center.

                          “Thanks man!” Rin smiled, ecstatic that he finally did it right. He tried a third time, this time without Marco’s guidance, and yielded the same results as the previous two times. “I really can’t thank you enough,” Rin finished, genuinely feeling a warm rush of gratitude towards the boy.

                          “It’s okay,” Marco replied, a small bubble of pride growing within him at feeling like he actually did something helpful for someone. “I’ve gotta go check on some friends, but I’ll be back out in a while. Keep practicing okay?” Marco finished with a smile, walking back inside the college.

                          Rin watched him go for only a second, calling out a “You got it, boss!” However, in that second he’d managed to catch Jean watching him from the shade of the college, and from the glare he was giving Rin, he knew that if Jean had a gun, Jean’d probably have added a few extra holes in him. _What’s that guy’s problem?_ Rin thought, turning back to his shooting.

                          He’d only got a few shots in before he heard the slight crunch of feet on gravel that told him that someone was approaching. He turned to see a glowering Jean standing where Marco had stood just minutes before.

                          “Can I help you?” Rin deadpanned, his usual snarky and blunt nature surfacing with the people he didn’t necessarily like.

                          “Back off,” Jean growled.

                          “Excuse me,” Rin asked, not sure if he’d heard correctly.

                          “You heard me. Back off. Leave Marco alone,” Jean repeated.

                          Rin wasn’t one to willingly keep arguing with someone (unless it was with Haru in the pool or with Rei about something) but he just could not _understand this guy’s friggin’ problem._ “I don’t remember having bothered Marco for anything, so I don’t know what you mean.”

                          Jean seemed to be having trouble breathing. “Marco’s a nice guy. He helps people he thinks need it. But I saw the way you looked at him. All those little smiles. I’m not stupid.”

                          _Holy shit, was this guy…jealous? Is that why he’s been glaring at me like that all day?_ “Okay, I don’t know what the hell you think I’m doing, but you’re wrong. Marco’s a nice guy, yeah, but I don’t see him like that.” Rin really didn’t want to get involved in whatever this guy’s deal was, so he began to just walk away.

                          “Oh whatever, that is _bull shit,_ Sharkboy!” Jean snarled.

                          Rin wheeled on him so fast it left him a little light headed. Only his friends could mess with him about his teeth. “Do I sense a note of _jealousy_ , Ponyboy?” Rin wanted to call this guy out and get this over with quick. He really didn’t want to start a fight with all these _loaded guns_ just within arm’s reach.

                          Jean’s face drained of color so fast it seemed as if he’d seen a ghost. “No, no it’s just I don’t want my best friend to get all felt up by some pervert – “ The color came right back to his face as soon as it’d left it, “And who the hell you calling, _Ponyboy!?”_

                          Rin felt as if the matter would have escalated to a full on fight if Seijuro, who’d been sitting with Gou for a while, hadn’t jogged up to the two. “Whoa, what’s going on guys?”

                          “None of your damn business,” Jean muttered darkly. He jerked his head over to Gou as he said, “This is between us, so go and sit over with LavaGirl, Flame Hair.”

                          _That is it_ , Rin thought, pulling back his arm to swing at the brat.

                             Suddenly, a melodic peal of laughter stopped him in his tracks. All three of them turned to see Gou laughing uncontrollably, hands at her stomach. Jean, Rin, and Sei didn’t really know what to do.

                          Gou struggled to her feet and staggered over to the three, trying to control herself until she was only slightly giggling. “Brother, I can’t believe you were going to punch him.”

                          Rin felt his face grow hot, “He insulted you.”

                          “Yeah, it was a very clever one at that,” she grinned, turning to look at Jean. “Plus, he’d have probably kicked your ass, what with those muscles.”

                          “Uh, these?” Jean said, testing them as if he’d just noticed they were there by flexing them a bit.

                          “Military training does that to you, Rin,” she smiled, “and don’t punish the guy for being a little jealous. I’d be jealous too if my crush was all over you, strictly platonic feelings or not.”

                          “I do not have a – “ Jean began, but was quickly silenced by a pat on the cheek from Gou.

                          “Uh-huh,” she smirked, walking off to the shed with Seijuro in tow, telling him how she felt like she’d give “Shooting a shot”.

                          Her intervention left both Jean and Rin in an awkward silence.

                          Rin was the first to break it. “Jean…uh, thanks.”

                          “Thanks?” Jean asked.

                          “Yeah, for, ah, making my sister laugh.” Jean looked a little confused so Rin continued, “Our mom just died yesterday. She hadn’t really talked much yet. She blames herself for it...” He hastily wiped his hand across his eyes, not over his mother’s death either. It had just happened yesterday, but he did a better job at hiding his emotions than his sister did. “So, thanks.”

                          Jean rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling like a complete asshole for how he’d jumped on Rin for just being friendly with Marco and vice versa. “No problem, and, um, I’m sorry too. For acting like an ass.”

                          Rin smiled, “Truce?”

                          “Truce,” Jean confirmed, shaking his hand. “But seriously though I don’t like Marco, he’s only my friend.”

                          “Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

* * *

 

                       After a light lunch, some more training with guns and some of their sporting equipment, and a hefty dinner, everyone found themselves drawn outside to watch the sun set around a bonfire. They didn’t have the luxury to be able to waste such a beautiful sight anymore.

                       Miho was sitting down with Gou, drink in hand, talking to some other people from the 104th when the tall dark skinned girl from earlier approached her. Approached her with a once bright blue hoodie that was stained crimson.

                       She shakily got to her feet.

                       “Here,” the girl said, pressing the article of clothing into Miho’s hand, “It’s all we could get of him.”

                       Miho gripped the hoodie tight, slowly walking away from the girl and toward the raging bonfire that was keeping the group warm.

                        _Goro, why? Why were you so careless?_ She didn’t even realize when her tears had started rolling.

                       She stood before the fire now, silence settling as everyone watched her. Her throat was thick as she remembered all the events from earlier. Was it just this morning when Goro had promised to take her out for some coffee? _Maybe…just maybe…there could have been something here. If time would have allowed it._ She swallowed over the lump in her throat, trying her hardest not to sob out loud.

                       _I can’t give you a proper burial. But I can give you this._

                       Miho threw the hoodie into the fire.

                       “His death won’t be in vain,” she whispered, slowly turning to find her swimmers, her responsibility, her _children._ “We have to keep going, we have to survive. For him. To be able to tell everyone about his bravery, about his leadership. About how he died a meaningful death. We _owe_ him that much.” There were other deaths, and whilst Goro’s was the one that pained her the most, she knew she had to address the others. “We _owe them_ that much.” Miho turned to Gou as she could feel her tears begin to choke her, but she had to get her last words out, “’Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal’, so let’s remember them! Let’s keep them alive in our memories, in all those moments they made us laugh, made us figure out our true potential!” She wiped her hand across her face, erasing her tears. “Just, don’t forget them,” she finished, a little brokenly.

                        Gou quietly got up from her seat and went to Miho to slowly guide her back to her seat.

                       They didn’t expect Miho’s little speech to receive a reaction. So when the 104th began to silently stand and salute Miho and more importantly the flames that now represented their fallen, it was all a big surprise. The Iwatobi group followed their lead, moved to tears by what Miho had said. Miho and Gou both turned to salute the fire too, before finally returning to their places.

                       Conversations quietly resumed after a while.

                       “Decided yet?”

                       Makoto turned to see Eren sipping a coke as he took a seat beside him. He scratched the back of his head and gave Haru a quick glance. They’d talked about the 104th‘s offer to join them, with some of them agreeing that it seemed like a good idea and others thinking it’d be best to keep to themselves and continue on their own. Solitude won out.

                       “We’ve decided to travel on our own,” Haru answered, eyes on the stars that were starting to shine.

                       Eren smiled wryly, “Damn shame. We were all starting to like you guys.”  He took another drink of his soda. “Where you guys headed?”

                       “Cape Irago,” Makoto replied.

                       “Wait, are you going through the Ise Bay?” Eren asked incredulously.

                       “We’re swimmers,” Haru deadpanned.

                       Makoto gave Eren a much more understandable explanation. “It’s a quick route. And there’s plenty of islands to go through.”

                       Eren nodded, turning to look at the flames. “We’d better all get a good rest then. I doubt we’ll have any easy days like this when we’re on the move.”

* * *

 

                Rin hastily wiped off the tears Miho’s speech had caused as he heard someone open the door to the roof.

                “Thought you might want something to drink.” Rin glanced up and saw Connie offering him a steaming cup of something. “I didn’t know whether you’d want soda or hot chocolate, but since it’s cold and you aren’t close to the fire, I thought you might like something warm.”

                “Thanks,” Rin mumbled, taking a sip and burning his tongue. “Shit, this is hot as hell!”

                “Sorry,” Connie apologized, “but I mean, it is in the name: ‘Hot Chocolate’.”

                Rin glared at him before blowing on his scalding drink and trying it again. “Why are you here anyway?” Rin had come to the roof for some quiet; some time to be able to be open with his emotions and not have to answer to anyone’s questioning looks. He didn’t think Connie was going to answer since he was taking so long to say something, yet he did.

                “Jean told me about your mom.”

                The flames illuminated Connie’s face, showing that he wasn’t saying it to tease or make fun.

                “What about it?” Rin barked, trying to sound aggressive but instead sounding how he felt – terribly sad.

                “My mom’s dead, too.”

                Rin turned to Connie sharply, not having expected Connie’s admission. “I’m so sorry,” Rin began, knowing exactly how it felt.

                “It’s okay,” Connie started. “I-I just wish I hadn’t been there when they killed her.”

                _Goro had already begun to push Rin to the side to finish the zombie off when there was a gruesome snap and they were both sprayed with blood as the zombie pitched forward_.

                Shaking his head to rid himself of the memory Rin shakily asked, “Did your mom turn, too?”

                Connie nodded. “We found her eating my dad.”

                  _Hands hooked and looking like claws, covered in what could only be assumed to be blood. Mouth stained red as well, with some of the blood dribbling down to her clothes._

                Rin looked away. How terrible must it have felt to lose two loved ones to the same wretched thing. “I don’t know what to say,” Rin whispered after a few seconds of silence.

                “You don’t have to say anything,” Connie replied, wiping his hand hastily across his face. “I just wanted you to know that you aren’t the only one hurting.” Connie could see Eren sitting beside Haru and Makoto. He didn’t know how in the world he managed to keep himself together. “You’ve got people around you that know what it’s like.” Connie turned to face Rin full on, “You don’t have to keep everything bottled up inside.”

                The tears began coming before Rin could stop them. He doubled over and hugged himself, dropping the hot chocolate and sobbing. Connie scooted himself over and tentatively put his arm around Rin, gently consoling him. Just like Sasha had held him when they’d found and killed his mother. He knew that since he had his sister Rin probably didn’t have anyone to cry to. He was the one who’d had to do the consoling.

                It was the least he could do. Be Rin’s shoulder to cry on. He patted Rin’s arm and began to rub small circles into his back, trying his best to replicate what had been done to console him.

                “That’s it, big guy. Let it all out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? This little crossover chapter?
> 
> I hope you liked it! See you next month!

**Author's Note:**

> So, how was that for the prologue? I know that there's not blood or action yet but don't worry, it'll get there. I'm thinking about uploading a chapter a month, but if I see a lot of interest I'll try my hardest to pump out chapters sooner. Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading!


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